


Bending the Rules

by ramdomfam13175



Category: USWNT - Fandom
Genre: Other, PREATH - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-10-07 11:49:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 54,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17365388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramdomfam13175/pseuds/ramdomfam13175
Summary: Soccer stars Ashlyn Harris and Whitney Engen are married and have 6 kids. See them undergo heartbreak, joy and laughter.





	1. Meet the Harris Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all like it! This story is near and dear to my heart <3

hey guys! so I was watching the video on youtube about Whit and Ashlyn and I decided they would be a really cute ship. this a request about Whitlyn (?) and their giant family.

*Whitney's mom blog (bc she seems like that type of person)

Six. It's our family's magic number. Six is the number of years Ashlyn and I dated before getting married. It's the number of states we've lived in before settling in Maryland. Six is the number I wore throughout my whole career on the US Women's National Soccer Team. And six is the number of crazy kids we have. Yes, you read that right-6 kids.

Ashlyn and I always knew we wanted to spend our lives together, ever since she picked me up at the airport in North Carolina. We were, and still are, so entirely different, but opposites attract right?

We have lived in so many states. North Carolina, California, Florida, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland. In each one, we have so many memories that I wouldn't trade for the world.

Ashlyn and I have grown our family from the ground up. Just a reminder, we have six. There's Dalton, Brendan, Jordyn, Taylor, Jonah and Bryce.

Dalton Michael Harris (16)

Brendan John Harris (15)

Jordyn Abigail Harris (15)

Taylor Elizabeth Harris (15)

Jonah Grant Harris (12)

Bryce Maxwell Harris (11)

Ashlyn, our kids and I are quite a bunch. We have so many memories, inside jokes and laughs that I wouldn't change for everything. Yes, we have had our ups and downs, but we love each other endlessly.

I have known my wife Ashlyn since freshman year of college. We both attended the University of North Carolina and hit it off endlessly. We got married and then adopted Dalton in 2002, Brenden, Jordyn and Taylor 2003, Jonah in 2005 and had Bryce biologically in 2006.  
————————-  
"That's enough riding for today." Whitney says closing her laptop. 

She knew her kids would be getting home from school any minute. 

"We're home!" Jonah says running in the house followed by Bryce.

"Hi guys. How was school?" 

"Good. Thank God it's Friday." Bryce says throwing his backpack down and going to the fridge.

"Do you guys no were the older kids are?" Whit asks her sons.

"Nah they were right behind us."

"Home!" Taylor yells coming through the door.

"Friday, Friday, Friday! What's up peeps we in da house!" Yells Dalton.

"Can we get pizza tonight?" Brendan says coming into the kitchen.

"No hi how are you mom?" Whitney chuckles. 

"Sorry..." Brendan says kissing his mom on the cheek.  
".....can we get pizza tonight?" 

"Sure, Mama will be getting home late anyway." Whit laughs.

"Mama's getting home late again?" Jordyn asks after taking a sip of juice.

"Yea, she's stuck at the airport in Orlando. She'll land at like 8, get home around 10." Whitney says. 

The kids just sighed. This happens a lot, Ashlyn coming home late. See, Ashlyn is still playing in the NWSL, for the Orlando Pride. Whitney tells Ashlyn that she needs to settle down, that they have a family and she can't be leaving all the time.  
—————  
Whitney washes the dishes from the pizza party her and the kids had. She sits in the living room, waiting for Ash. It's 10:30 she still doesn't come. She decides to call her.  
*ring*  
"Hello?"

"Hey honey, I was just wondering if you'll be home soon?"

"Oh yea, there's a lot of traffic. I'll be home in about an hour."

"An hour? Oh that's pretty late." Whitney says kinda disappointed.

"How bout you go to bed babe? I'll try to not wake you when I come in." Ash answers.

"Oh...okay. Alright well then have a safe ride home."

"Thanks Whit. I love you. Wish the kids goodnight for me?"

"Sure. See you soon."

"Love you Whitney." Ash says again for emphasis.

"Love you too Ash." Whitney says hanging up the phone.

\----------------------

Ash comes into the house at 12:30. She turns the light on carefully, trying not to wake her wife.

"Ash?" Whitney says rubbing her eyes.

"Hey babe. Sorry I woke you." Ash says apologetic.

Whitney sits up and looks at the clock, only to find it's 12:30.

"Ashlyn, it's 12:30. You said you'd be home 2 hours ago." Whitney says clearly hurt.

"I know and I'm sorry, traffic got really bad." Ash says trying to hug Whit.

"No..don't touch me. What's been going on with you Ashlynn? You've been gone for days at a time and can't even make it home on time?!"

"Whitney let's not get upset, I can explain."

"Explain what? How you're not committed to this family anymore? Trust me, I've seen it. You don't seem like you care any more."

"I care a lot Whitney and you know that."

"Oh really. You care a lot. So much that you are hours and hours away and only call for 15 minutes every night. You're so secretive about telling me where you've been and what you've done. Sometimes I think you're seeing other people." Whitney says starting to cry.

"Whitney, you know I would never cheat on you. Come on, I love you." Ash says taking Whit into her arms.

"Ashlyn I think it's time for you to settle down." Whit continues.

"What?" Ashlyn says letting go of Whit.

"Yea, maybe retire from the pros and find a job here in Maryland." Whitney says wiping a tear.

"Whitney, you know I'm not that type of person."

"Person to what? The person who wants to stay close to their family and be there for their kids? You've told me about how much you wished your dad was in your life, don't be like him Ash. Our kids miss you terribly."

"I know and will all fall into place soon." Ash says.

"When? Soon? A year? We don't have that kind of time Ashlyn. Our kids are growing up, and you'll miss it if you don't stop and settle down."

"I know baby, I'll explain in the morning." Ash yawns.

"Fine, but it better be one hell of an explanation. I don't like how our relationship is right now. It's strained, and we need to fix it."


	2. Working Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get heavy between Whitney and Ashlyn. Will they make it through?

"Good morning beautiful." Ashlyn says kissing her wife as she flutters her eyes open.  
"Don't think this will make up for everything. We still need to talk." Whitney says.  
"There's nothing big to explain, I have an answer for all of your questions." Ash grins.  
"Oh do you, then why didn't you tell me that in the first place." Whitney says rolling over and getting out of bed.  
Whitney walks over to the bathroom and washes her hands in the sink. Ashlyn goes over, without a shirt, bra and all, and wraps her arms around Whitney's waist.  
"Ashlyn." Whit sighs.  
"What? I can't show my affection anymore?"  
"No its fine. But do you even remember what happened last night?"  
"Of course I do. And I have answers to all of your concerns."  
"Fine spill." Whitney says walking out of the bedroom.  
Ashlyn follows and says: "listen I was stuck in traffic last night.."  
Whitney sighs.  
"There was an accident on the highway, it's all over the news." Ashlyn says.  
"I guess that's okay."  
"What did you think I would do Whitney? We've been married for 17 years! We've known each other for 24!"

"Yea well over 17 years people can get tired of the same routine." Whitney says.

"What are you saying?" Ash says starting to get upset.

"I'm not saying anything Ash, I love you, I'm just stating options."

"Options? Is that what you'd think I'd do? Check my options?! Whitney, you're my only option. You're my wife, I love you. Come on don't you trust me?" Ash says looking hurt.

Whitney stares at her wife. She quickly grabs Ashlyn's face and kisses her with more passion than every before. Ash sinks into the kiss, quickly relaxing and wrapping her arms around Whit. Whit let's go of the kiss, but Ash kisses her once more.

"I missed that." Ash grins.

Whitney smiles back and says: "I'm sorry for not trusting you. It's just, you're gone so much. And I don't know, I have a lot of time to think, and sometimes it gets to my head."

"I know baby, I understand. Let's try to work something out, so our family can be happier and healthier."

"I'd like that." Whitney smirks.

Ash pulls Whitney in and kisses her passionately once more.

"Let's go see if the kids are up." Whitney says grabbing Ash's hands.

"They're teenagers, they won't be up for a long time." Ash says pulling Whitney over to the bed.

Whitney laughs as Ashlyn lies her down and crawls on top of her, kissing her.

"Ashlyn what if the kids see?" Whitney laughs.

"They're sleeping Whit, I hope." Ash laughs, resting her head into the crook of Whit's neck.

"We should get up anyway, long day ahead of us." Whitney says.

Ashlyn pouts, making Whitney laugh.

"Fine, but it's only because I haven't seen the kids in a week. If it was any other normal day, I'd fuck you to death." Ash chuckles, causing Whit to playfully hit in the arm.  
————————  
Ashlyn and Whitney, walk into the kitchen hand in hand.

They see all of the kids already there.

"Mama!" Bryce yells running to hug Ash.

"Hey buddy, missed you." Ash says rubbing the boys head.

"How was Orlando?" Taylor asks.

"Not as fun without you guys." Ash says while hugging Taylor.

"Are you home for a while now?" Brenden asks.

Ash pauses and thinks before answering. "Well, one more week of this and then no more going back and forth before Easter." Ash says going over and hugging Brenden, then Dalton.

"Hi Mama." Jordyn says coming up behind Ash and hugging her.

"Hey Jordy, just woke up?" Ash says hugging her daughter back.

Jordyn nods and goes over to the table to get some cereal.

"Where's Jonah?" Whitney asks. 

"I don't know. He wasn't feeling too well last night." Brendan says.

Whitney and Ashlyn both look at each other and decide to go check on their son. 

\---------------------

"Jonah?" Whitney says knocking on Jonah and Bryce's bedroom door.

The boy groans and coughs as he rolls over. 

"What's the matter baby?" Ash says grouching down to her son in bed and rubbing his back.

"I don't feel good." He groans.

"I'll get the thermometer." Whitney says going to the bathroom. 

"Hi Mama." Jonah says after coughing. 

"Hey baby, how was your week?" Ash smiles softly.

"Good, I'm happy you're home." Jonah grins, just as Whit walks back in.

"I'm happy I'm home too bud." Ashlyn says smiling at Jonah and then looking up at her wife. 

"Alright turn over." Whitney says crouching down. 

Whitney puts the thermometer in Jonah's mouth and waits for the beep.

Whitney takes it out after the beep and says: "101, he's sick. I'll call the doctor as soon as possible okay?" Whit says moving the stray hairs out of Jonah's eyes as he nods.

"Do ya need anything?" Ashlyn asks.

Jonah nods his head no.

"Alright, well then get some rest, it will help a lot." Ashlyn adds. 

\---------------------------

Ash and Whit drive the kids to all their activities, soccer, football, karate, lacrosse and other things like that. Together, they make dinner for all 8 of them and manage to have a good Saturday night. As a family they watched "Back To The Future." It's 11 pm and the kids are in bed. Ash and Whit decide to stay up a while longer and talk, for they haven't had much alone time.

"I'm glad you're home Ash." Whitney says snuggling into her wife.

"Me too. I wish I never had to leave again." Ash sighs.

"When do you have to leave again?" 

"Not for 2 weeks, and it's only for 3 days. Then I'm telling the Pride I'm going to retire." 

Whitney sits up in confusion.

"What?" Whitney asks, not sure if she hear Ash right.

"I'm going to retire." 

"Ashlyn, what I said before, I didn't really mean it." 

"I know you didn't mean it. But I thought about it. I've been looking for jobs for about a month." Ash explains.

Whitney sits there stunned. Where did all this come from?

"Are you sure?" 

"Yea. I want to be here with you and the kids 24/7. I don't want to miss another thing." 

"What would you even do? What kind of job would you get?" 

"Actually, I already have one."

"What is it?" 

"Well, the University of Maryland is looking for a new sports management head for their women's soccer team, I got the job a week ago." 

"What?! Babe, that's amazing!" Whitney says smiling and kissing Ashlyn.

They break the kiss and Ash says: "Yea and then I don't have to travel with them around the country, I just get an office on the campus." 

"Wow, so you're really retiring?" Whitney says. She can't believe Ash made this decision on her own. 

"Yea, I'm positive. And the pay is a little less than what I would've made in the pros, but we can handle that." Ash adds.

"Wow, why didn't you tell me any of this?" 

"I waited till I knew for sure if I wanted to do this, and I also waited to see if Maryland was interested. Plus when I got home we weren't exactly..on good terms." 

"Ash I'm still really sorry about. I should've believed you from the start."Whitney says grabbing Ashlyn's hand.

"I know, I know, it was my fault for leading you one. I wasn't exactly honest with you because all of my free time out of camp I was researching for the job. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." 

"It's okay baby. I'm proud of you." Whitney says kissing Ash once more. 

The couple then cuddles more on the couch, talking about their lives in the future. Their hopes, their dreams, and everything else in between. Everything was alright now, just the way they liked it.


	3. Who Is She?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A girl calling for Ashlyn...how will Whitney and the kids react?

It's another day in the Harris house. It's currently Monday morning, the worst of all days. Today, Ashlyn starts her new job as the Management Head of the University of Maryland's Women's Soccer Team. Ash was a little nervous, Whitney was really nervous.  
"Call me when you get there okay?" Whitney asks her wife.   
"Okay Whit. I'll call you after I get settled. " Ash answers.   
"I made you lunch." Whitney smiles.   
Ash laughs and says: "It's like the first day of school." She says kissing Whits cheek.

Ash leaves and Whitney starts doing some laundry and other stuff.

The phone rings. Whitney goes to answer it, but doesn't recognize the number. She answers it anyways.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Ashlyn Harris." a female voice says on the other end.

"Um she's not home at the moment. May I ask who's calling?"

"Uh yea my name's Juliette, Ashlyn and I met at the bar in Orlando?"

Whitney's heart stopped. Bar??!?!? Ashlyn met another girl at a bar?!?

"Oh um yes, can I take a message for you?" Whitney says trying to hold back her anger.

"Perfect. Just tell her that I had a lot of fun and would like to meet up if she's ever in Orlando again. Oh and I owe her for all those drinks she bought me." Juliette says.

"Yea sure, she'll get back to you as soon as she can." Whitney says hanging up the phone quick.

\-----------

Whitney, right then and there, just screamed. She screamed and cried and sobbed. How could Ashlyn do this to her?! How could she?! Did she lie about not cheating?! What was even happening??!

Whit decided to call Ashlyn.

*ring*

"Hey babe." Ashlyn says happily answering.

"Don't 'hey babe' me, you low lying cheat. Never talk to me or our children ever again, don't even come near us. It's over Ashlyn."

"Whit what are yo....." Ashlyn starts saying as Whit slams down the phone.

Ashlyn sits there devastated. What did she do? She didn't do anything! She needs to go to Whit. Yes, on the first day of her new job, she's going to ask to leave early. Not the best thing to do, but she had to. For her family...

\----------

Ashlyn races home to her wife. Was Whit really serious? Was it over? Ash doesn't even know why!

Ashlyn pulls into the driveway and sprints up the stairs and into the house.

She quietly closes the door, she doesn't want any of the kids to hear them fighting.

She hears Whitney on the phone with her mom, crying.

"I don't know Mom, I don't know why she would do it? I mean 17 years! I just don't understand."

"........." Mom answers

"I know, I told her to stay away from the kids, at least know while I figure things out."   
"....."   
"Divorce? I don't know." Whit cries.

Ashlyn's heart sinks. Divorce? No, they can't get divorced. They love each other too much.

"Whit?" Ash softly says.

Whit turns around and sees Ashlyn.

"Get out." She says calmly.

"Whitney, let me speak."

"No I've heard enough. That slut Juliette told me everything. She called asking when you'd be back in Orlando so you could "hang out". There's no more you could say." Whit says as a tear rolls down her face.

"Juliette's a friend Whitney."

"Yea bullshit that Ashlynn. I've heard that excuse too many times."

"Well it's true. I met her at a sport's bar after practice. She didn't have enough money for a meal, I helped her out." Ash says raising her voice.

"Just leave Ashlynn. "

"No, you can't do this. You need to hear me out."

"Ashlyn please..just leave me alone." Whit cries.

"I'm not leaving. We hung out at the sports bar watching the game. We talked about soccer, she asked for advice?"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because it's true." Ashlyn yells.

\------------------

Little did they know, the kids were outside the door. The bus just dropped them off. They heard everything.

"Mama couldn't of cheated. She loves Mommy." Bryce says starting to cry.

"This can't be real. Maybe it will blow over." Brendan adds.

"Blow over? Brendan, Mom's accusing Mama of cheating on her. Nothing's gonna turn out well. " Jordyn says.

"Should we go in? Maybe they'll stop yelling and try to work it out rationally." Taylor asks.

"No. That won't work. Wait until they stop screaming." Dalton answers.

So they kids sit down on the steps.

\-----------------

"Ashlyn I want to look into a divorce." Whitney sobs.

"Whitney....don't say that. We can work this out?."Ash pleads.

"No...not this time. It's too late, we've said that too many times."

"We can get a couple's counselor, a..a family counselor. Anything but divorce." Ash cries.

"I haven't been happy Ash. We're not like we used to be. We just can't seem to agree on anything anymore, I don't even know what we have in common?"

"Lot's of things...soccer, our kids."

"Don't tell the kids about this. Not a word. It would crush them." Whitney says sternly.

\-----------------

"A divorce?' Jonah cries.

By now all the kids are crying.

"I'm going in. Come on." Dalton says.

Dalton, along with his 5 other siblings barge in the door.

Ashlyn and Whit just stare at their kids in the door. They can tell they've heard. You can't escape the tears in their eyes and the sad and angry looks on their faces.  
Whitney leaves the room with her hand over mouth, she can't believe what's happening.

Ashlyn just stares at the doorway, horrified.   
"Uh...why don't you guys..sit down..we should talk." Ashlyn says motioning the six of them to the couch.

They all sit in silence.   
"You and mom can't get a divorce. It will split up our family!" Jordyn yells.   
"Alright let's all calm down." Ash says  
"Why should we? You're splitting up." Taylor adds.   
"That's not for sure....look, I don't know how much you guys heard...but people say some things they don't mean when they're angry. Everything will be alright." Ash says calm.   
"You promise?" Bryce asks.   
Ashlyn pauses.  
"You promise Mama?!" Dalton yells.   
"Dalton..." Ash says sternly.   
"No, this is a big deal! Why shouldn't I yell?! Our family is being destroyed!" He cries.   
"We're not getting a divorce you guys...we're just having a little disagreement."   
"Yea that's a little disagreement." Brendan says quietly.  
"Guys...lets just let this run its course. Let's not interfere. Mom's on edge, so let's all just cool down."

Ash and the kids disperse around the house, all trying to forget that they might not be a family for long.   
Ash decides to go see her brother. She needs to talk with someone.

\-------------

Ashlyn pulls up to her brother Chris' place. 

"Hey Ash, what's up?" Chris says opening the door to his condo. 

"I need advice...fast." 

Chris ushers her in, wondering what was bothering her.

Ashyn explains everything. She starts to cry just talking about it. Her older brother decides to give her some advice.

"Listen, Ash....this is something big that could affect your life forever. And..I don't know from personal experience, but I've been in love. You remember Jason right?" (Chris is gay for story)

Ash nods her head. 

"Well we dated for years, almost 10, we broke up right around when Bryce was born, you know that. But we loved each other, we were soulmates. And I still regret letting him slip away from me. "

" I don't want that to happen to me and Whit." Ash sighs.

"I know you don't. Then you have to give everything you have to try and find a solution. Jason gave up on me, but I didn't give up on him. And I only lost him. You have all of those kids to protect." Chris explains. 

"I'm so scared Chris. So scared. I don't want what happened to mom and dad to happen to me." 

"I don't think anything will be that bad Ash." Chris sighs.

See Ashlyn's parents had horrible divorce when Ash was 12. Her dad was an alcoholic and smoked weed and other drugs daily. He abused Ash's mother. But Tammy Harris was too scared to say anything. She was living in fear. It finally took a trip to the hospital for Mrs. Harris to speak up. Ash's dad went to jail after that for abuse and sexual assault. He's still in jail. He's never met any of his grandkids, he's never met Whitney. Ash doesn't want to be like them. NO ONE wants to be like them. 

"I think you should talk to Mom about this, she has more experience." Chris says honestly.

Ash agrees and hugs her brother, leaving. 

"Good luck." Chris waves.

"Thanks Chris."

"Oh and Ash?" Chris adds.

"Yea?" Ash says turning around.

"I'll love and support you, whatever happens." Chris grins.

"Thanks Chris, love you. I'll keep you updated." Ash smiles.

"Please do. Bye." Chris says closing the door.

\----------------

"Mom?" Ash says into the phone as she sits in the parking lot outside of Chris's condo.

"Oh hey honey, what's going on?" 

"Uh, a lot, I need to talk to you about me and Whit.." 

"Are you having another kid? Ashlyn can you handle 7 kids?" 

"No Mom...unfortunately that's not it. We're having some problems with our marriage." 

"Oh no, Ash I'm so sorry to hear that." 

"Yea I need some advice." 

"Sure hon, go ahead."

"Well I'm terrified. She brought up divorce." 

"The topic of divorce? Or the word "divorce"?" 

"I don't know. I'm hoping she just said it to say to it. Maybe scare me a little."

"Huh, well things that scare you mean that you care a lot about it. I know you love Whitney, Ash, so you have to fight for her. And the kids..." 

"That's exactly what Chris said." 

"It's the right thing. If you love her, don't let her go." 

"Thanks Mom, that really helped. I'm gonna go talk to Whit." 

"Okay honey, call me if you need anything else. Love ya." 

"Love you too Mom, bye." 

"Bye sweetie." 

\----------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

"Whit?" Ashlyn says walking into their house.

No answer.

"Kids?" Ash then says.

"Mama..." A voice says.

Ashlyn looks and it's her sweet Taylor.

"Hey what's going on?" Ash says softly.

"Mom's gone." She says quietly.

"What?" Ash says.

"She left a letter in your room, no-one else knows except me and you."

"Did you read the letter?" 

"No, it was addressed to you." Taylor answers choking up.

"Okay, I'll figure things out. Everything will be alright baby, don't worry." Ash says hugging Taylor and rubbing her back.

\---------------------

Ashlyn quickly enters the master bedroom and looks for the letter. She sees an envelope on the bed and quickly opens it.

It reads: 

Dear Ashlyn, 

I needed to cool off a little bit, so I got on a plane to California to visit with my parents for a while. I just to think about and reflect about the last few hours. I'll be back on Friday, and then we can have a nice, calm discussion. I love you so much and I want to be able to make this work. I have 17 years with you and I want to spend the rest of my years with you. I didn't mean it when I said I wanted a divorce. I was angry and scared, and didn't have my head on straight. Send my kids my love and tell them I won't be gone for long. I love you.

-Whitney 

\------------------------------------

Ash sighs, putting her head in her hands. 

"Are you okay Mama?" 

Ash lifts her head and sees Brendan in the door.

"Hey B. Yea I'm fine. Can you tell your siblings to all meet in the living room." 

"Sure, any reason?" Brendan asks before leaving.

"No, just a family meeting." 

\---------------------

"What's this for?" Dalton asks sitting on the couch.

"It's a family meeting." Ash answers. 

"Shouldn't Mom be here?" Jonah asks.

"That's the thing..Mom's in California with Grandma and Grandpa." 

"Why did she go without us?" Bryce asks.

"Well she just needed a break. I think that the past few days have stressed out, she needed some time to recharge." Ash answers.

"Did she leave because of the fight?" Jordyn asks.

"....yea....but she's not leaving, leaving. Again, she just needed some time to recharge." Ash simply states.

"So you just let her leave?" Dalton says.

"That's why I had you guys come here. I have plan. We're going to chase after her.." 

"You mean like go to California?" Taylor asks intrigued.

"But we have school." Brendan says. All of his siblings glare at him, almost like "don't mention it". 

"I know. But, in my opinion, family is so much more important than an education. Right?" 

The kids nod.

"Alright, let's go over my plan." Ash says opening her laptop.


	4. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The surprise? Well you'll just have to wait and see...

It's the next day. Today, Ashlyn and the kids will be flying out to California. Right before the leave for the airport, Whitney calls Ash to check in.

"Hello?" Ash says picking up the phone

"Hey Ash, it's Whitney."

"Hey Whit, what's going on?" Ash says trying to laugh to reveal the surprise.

"I just wanted to call and check in. I'm sorry I left out of no where yesterday."

"Ah no it's fine baby. I....I uh understand." Ash answers.

"Thanks, how did the kids take it?"

"Not good, but we're going out today. We'll have some fun."

"Good, well then I'll talk to you later."

"Okay baby, bye."

\------------------

The Harris' just landed in California. They rent a car and drive out to Torrance, Whitney's hometown. They arrive at a hotel a few miles away from Whitney's parents house. They have a huge day planned to surprise Whit, she's going to love it.

First off, Ashlyn arranged for flowers to be sent to Whitney.

*Ding dong*

"Who could that be?" Whitney's mom says.

"Mailman?" Whit says.

Whitney's mom opens the door and brings in a huge bouquet of roses.

"These are for you." She says.

"Really?" Whitney says getting up.

Whitney reads the card: "We love you Mom, hope everything is well. We miss you and can't wait until you are home. Love Dalton, Brendan, Jordyn, Taylor, Jonah, and Bryce." Whitney reads aloud.

"You are one of their favorites." Mrs.Engen laughs.

"Yea, they don't deserve to live like this, their parents fighting all the time."

"You'll work it out honey and the kids know that whatever happens, happens and that both you and Ashlyn still love them very much."

\---------------------

Then, Whitney would get a call from a friend, Jane.

"Hello?"

"Hey Whit!" Jane says.

"Jane? What's up?! I haven't seen you in so long!" Whitney says to the other voice on the phone.

"I heard you're in Torrance? Let's hang out!" Jane says excited.

"Yea, that sounds good."

Phase two complete, get Whit to the park.

\--------------------

Whitney walks into her neighborhood park, looking for Jane. She sits on a bench and checks her phone. No word from Jane.

"Hi Mom."A voice says.

Whitney looks up and sees Dalton.

"Dalton?! What are you doing here?"

Dalton ignores the comment and sits down next to his mom. "Beautiful day isn't it?"

"Young man, what are you doing here? Did you fly across the whole country by yourself?"

"I wasn't by myself." Dalton simply says.

"Hello there." Jordyn says coming up behind Whit and Dalton.

"Okay, what's going on?" Whitney says looking around.

"Nothing at all." Jordyn grins.

"Nothing? Is there any one else here?"

"Mom!" A voice yells

Whitney turns around and sees Bryce running towards her.

"What's the matter?" Whitney asks.

"It's Jonah.." Bryce says breathless. "....he fell in the pond. Taylor and Brendan are trying to get him out."

Whitney runs to the pond, while Bryce hangs back with his siblings.

When Witney gets to the pond she sees a magnificent sight. Right by the pond, a gizibo, covered in white lights with rose pettles scattered on the ground. She can't wipe the smile off of her face and turns around. There, in front of her is her kids. All 6 of them.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Whit smiles.

"Sure." Taylor says opening up her laptop. She pulls up a video and presses play for her mom to see.

-video-

"Hey Whitney! It's Juliette Magliano from Orlando. I do believe that we talked on the phone a few days ago...I just wanted to send you this little explanation to clear everything up, because from what I've heard I've caused some trouble. Your wife Ashlyn did meet me in bar, a sports bar, and we only started talking over the Manchester City game that was on. And we started talking, I think she was only being polite. And actually the first thing she mentioned to me was you and your kids, so you really didn't have to worry. I explained that I was a struggling actress that didn't have enough money for like anything. And that I was going to flirt with the bar tender to get some food, but she told me I was a smart independent women who doesn't need a man's help to survive. She bought me dinner and some wine and we talked. She gave me advice, told me about her career and she talked a lot about you actually. She really loves, a stranger can tell from the way she talked about you. So. again, super sorry that I caused so much tension, I truly hope this helps to make it better. I send my love and hope to all of the Harris Family. Bye!"

\---------------

It all makes sense to Whit now. Everything was explained. She should've believed Ash from the start, she was telling the truth.

"Now you believe Mama?" Bryce asks sweetly.

"Yes.." Whitney says bringing in Bryce to her hip.

"....and I should've from the start. I hope you guys can forgive me for being such a grouch the last couple of days."

"No problem Mom." Brendan smiles.

Whitney looks at all of her kids. Dalton....Brendan.....Jordyn.....Taylor.....Jonah.....Bryce.

"I love you guys." Whitney says bringing them all in for a group hug.

They all separate and Whitney notices one thing. Ash wasn't there.

"Where's Mama?" Whitney finally says.

"Right here." A familiar voice says behind her.

Whitney turns around and sees Ashlyn, in a suit with a bouquet of roses.

"We'll leave you two alone.." Jordyn says backing away.

"We'll be at grandma's." Dalton adds.

Those 6 beautiful kids run up the hill leading to the pond giggling.

Whitney looks at Ashlyn. Ashlyn looks at Whitney.

"So." They both say at the same time.

They laugh and Ash says: "You go first."

"Okay...I just wanted to apologize, for everything. The whole mess was my fault."

"Nah Whit, we added to it." Ash says not wanting her wife to take the blame.

"No it's true. You were only trying to defend yourself. I'm sorry Ash." Whitney says coming close.

"It's alright Whit, I guess I didn't try to see things from your point of view. You must've been terrified." Ashlyn says putting her head down.

"Honestly I didn't now what to think. I should've trusted you from the start. I'm sorry again."

Ash smiles at Whit warmly.   
"You don't have to keep apologizing." She says grabbing Whit's hand and pulling her to the table set up with candles.

"So you flew all the way out here just for me?" Whit asks sitting down.

"You know it. I couldn't let you stay out her alone for days. I would feel too bad." Ash states.

"I wouldn't stay out here for days, my plan was just go to the airport and then come home. I just can't process leaving you and the kids."

"Then why did you leave? You got on the plane." Ash says sounding hurt.

"I don't know, it was a stupid decision in a stressful situation. I called my parents and they said that it would be a good idea to take a break. I would've left the next day."

"And you left because of me?"

"No Ash, I was just running away from my problems. It was immature and inconsiderate to you."

"Whitney it's alright. I've already told you.....it's okay."

"No Ashlyn, you're still hurt. You can tell."

"Whitney I'm fine." Ash says grabbing Whitney's hand across the table.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive."

———————————  
Whit and Ash kept talking. Until Ash brings something important up.

"You know Whit....I was thinking.."

"Thinking what.." Whitney asks intrigued.

"That....we have been married for a long time, like you've said and..."

"And?" Whit says kinda nervous.

"And...it's been 17 years and I want to..." Ashlyn pauses for effect.

"Ashlyn just tell me!"

"I want to marry you...again."

Whitney smiles uncontrollably.

"What?" She says.

"I want to renew our vows." Ash smiles back.

"I think that's a great idea." Whit says tearing up.

"So its settled, we getting married?" Ash laughs.

"Yea I'm down." Whit laughs.

The couple laugh so more, considering 17 years ago when they said they were getting married, it went a little bit differently. Definitely more crying and screaming of joy.

They decide to walk back to Whit's parents house. They walk in the door to laughing.   
It's their kids, the beautiful, sweet, awesome kids.

"Hey you guys. What's going on?" Whitney says chuckling.

"We're watching Anchorman 2." Jordyn laughs.

Whit and Ash go into the kitchen. They greet Whitney's parents and talk a little, catching up.

They order some Chinese food and then watch another movie. The Harris family plans to leave to go back to Maryland in two days.

It's 11:00 and then kids just went to bed. Whitney's parents are in bed, and the only ones up are Ashlyn and Whit.

"Can you believe the week we've had?" Whit chuckles.

"Yea it's been one hell of a ride." Ash replies.

"Wait..." Whit quickly says.

"What?"

"Your job! What happened with that?" Whitney says kinda freaking out.

"It's fine, it's all worked out. Turns out my boss went through something similar, and she understood."

"Really?"

"Yea, everything will be fine. I'll start up again when we get back home."

"Wow okay." Whit replies.

They continue to talk and talk..until they fell asleep in each other's arms. That's all they've wanted.


	5. Back Home...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home is where the heart is

Whitney, Ashlyn and their six kids got on a flight back home to Maryland last night. Everything between Whit and Ash is okay now, they're actually planning to renew their vows in the next month. They're beyond excited, they love each other so much. More than the anything.

While on the plane, Ash asks Whitney all these questions about what they want at the ceremony. 

"What kind of flowers would you like?"

"Ash, I told you..as long as the kids and our families are with us at the ceremony, I'll be happy. We don't need flowers or anything fancy.."

Ash pouts. "I just want it to be perfect for you."

"I know you do.." Whitney says rubbing Ash's cheek with her thumb.

Ash sits there for the rest of the flight, hand in hand with her wife, just thinking. Whitney doesn't want anything big, but Ash wants to do something.

The plane lands and Whitney counts all the kids as they get off the plane.

"2...3..5..where's Dalton?" She asks.

"Right behind you." The 16 year old says behind his mother.

Whitney chuckles and starts walking up the corridor to the airport. When Whitney and Dalton arrive at the luggage gate, they join the other 6 members of their family. Whitney immediately sees Ashlyn with her arms around Jonah, patting his head. She sees Ash's tattooed arms, resting on the innocent brown haired boys shoulder. Honestly, she's never seen anything more sexy.

Whitney walks up to Ash and puts her hand on her back. Ash looks at Whitney and grins. They get all their luggage and head to the car.

"Do we have to go to school tomorrow??" Bryce asks when they all get in the car.

"Yep. You guys have missed too many days already." Ashlyn answers.

"But it's Friday. Why can't we just go back on Monday?" Taylor asks.

Whitney grins and looks back at her kids.   
"You guys are going to school tomorrow. You'll be glad you did."

"Who needs school anyway." Jonah says softly.

"You will if you want a future." Jordyn says to her brother.

Whitney and Ash smile, Jordyn was always the most responsible out of all of them.   
~~~~~~

They get home and the kids disperse to their rooms. Ash and Whitney take their bags into their bedroom and begin to unpack.

"So when do we want to renew our vows?" Ash says.

"Not sure. Whenever is a good time for the kids and our parents."

"So no rush.."

Whitney looks up at Ashlyn saying, "well we're already married..it's not like we haven't been for the past 17 years."

Ashlyn chuckles.

~~~~~~~

Everyone is finished packing and is in the kitchen just hanging out. Ash is playing cards with the kids as Whitney watches and prepares dinner. Whitney chuckles at something Brendan said as the phone rings. Whitney finishes chopping a pepper and goes to get the phone.

"Hello?" Whitney says into the phone.

"Hello. Is this Mrs.Harris?" A female voice says.

"Depends..are you looking for Whitney or Ashlyn?" Whitney chuckles. She has to clear that up a lot of the time.

"Both actually. I'm Andrea Houston, from the National Foster Care services?"

"Yes, may I help you?" Whitney asks intrigued.

"Greatly actually. Mrs.Harris, you have adopted 5 of your children correct?"

"Yes that's true."

"Well do you remember after you adopted one of your youngest sons? Jonah I believe.."

"Of course I do."

"Well you and your wife had your name be put on a list. Under a contract stating that if indeed we come across a child that is about to age out of the foster care system, you would take them in."

"Ah yes I do remember that." Whitney says.

"We have a 15 year old boy, a very quiet guy who hasn't had much luck at other houses. I feel that you and your family would like him very much. He has a slick sense of humor when you warm up to him."

"I see..um can I talk to my wife and then get back to you?"

"Of course...but please get back to me as soon as you can. This boy is known to run off when he's in a bad mood."

"Surely Ms.Houston, we call you in the morning ."

"Thank you Mrs.Harris, have a good night."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney plays off the call as a call from work. She decides not to talk to Ashlyn about it until they're ready to go to bed.

When it's time, Whitney has Ash sit on the couch. Whitney smiles at her wife and sits down, folding her legs like a little kid, while she takes both of Ash's hands in hers.

"Okay what's going on.." Ash says suspicious.

"So..." Whitney says smiling goofily.

"So.." Ash says wanting to know what was going on.

"You know when the phone range when you were playing cards.."

"Yes. Who was it.."

"It was a representative from the national foster care services."

Ashlyn doesn't say anything. She doesn't know what to say.

"They have this boy that they think would fit really well into our family.."

Ashlyn sighs and puts her head in her hands.

"Ashlyn I think we should seriously think about it. He's aging out of the system soon..he'd be put on the streets."

Ashlyn looks up. "..how old is he?"

"15."

"I don't know Whit, those older foster kids..sometimes you can't trust them."

"Well we shouldn't judge before we found out more about him...he needs our help Ash."

"Does he have a criminal record?"

"No, the lady says he is very quiet. He doesn't really do anything crime related, but he runs away at times."

"So he has moods?"

"No Ash..he's just insecure."

"He sounds alright..."

"I think we should look into it."

"But Whitney, can we handle 7 kids.."

"..I think so, I means he's a teenager."

"Yea but...can we afford another child? I just started a new job, we've been saving for six kids to go to college for years. Will we be able to give him a good life?"

"Yes..we have plenty of money. That won't be an issue..but can we offer the emotional support? The lady says he doesn't talk much."

"We should schedule to meet her."

Whit agrees.

"I think this could be life changing for us. We need to try and help this kid." Whit finally states.

~~~~~~~  
Friday morning-7:30 am. The kids are off to school and Ashlyn and Whitney are going to Ms.Houston's office to inquire about and maybe meet this boy.

Ashlyn and Whitney are driving in their white Range Rover to the office.

"Nervous babe?" Ash asks looking over at Whitney.

"I mean yea, he could be our son."

~~~~~~~~

"Good morning ladies. Please come in." Ms.Houston says from her desk.

The two sit down and look at Ms.Houston.

"I'm Andrea, I believe Whitney and I talked on the phone.."

Whitney nods.

"...Well we have quiet a case on our hands. We have been trying to this boy for about 5 years now.."

Ash and Whitney state in disbelief.

"He's 15, as you know. He's been in an orphanage since he was 5. And then coming to the boys home. He's spent his whole life alone."

"We are very interested in fostering, and possibly adopting him." Ashlyn says.

"We have had a lot of folks interested, but he has chosen none of them. I am very hopeful about you and your family."

"We are too. He's seems like a very nice boy." Whit adds.

"Well why don't I introduce him to you. After that you can make your final decision." Andrea smiles.

The two nod and follow the women out to the living quarters. The stop in front of a room that has about 6 beds in it. There's a group of boys crowded around what looks to be a TV, watching the Yankees play. Then there's a boy alone by himself at a desk, he looks like he's deeply focused on something.

"That's him at the desk..." Andrea points out. "...he's a very avid drawer. Very talented, he draws everything..flowers, sunsets..his favorite is planes."

Whitney sees a football also on his desk, he would do very well in their house.   
Andrea opens the door and ushers the boy to come over. He gets up from his chair and ash and Whit can fully examine him. He's tall, maybe 5'11", skinny with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Ashlyn. Whitney..I would like you to meet Noah." Andrea smiles.

Ashlyn and Whit both shake his hand happily. He's very polite, and was very sweet with them.

Andrea leads the couple back to her office after they finish talking with Noah.

"I love him." Whit whispers to Ash as they walk down the hallway. Ash smiles, she also thinks that he would be a great addition to their family.

"So..." Andrea says sitting down at her desk. "...how did you like him?"

Both Ash and Whitney smile at each other, and then to Andrea.

"I think I speak for both of us when I say that we really wanna look it to adopting him." Ashlyn answers.

"You don't want to try and foster him first?" Andrea acts surprised.

"I mean I don't think so..You were right when you thought he'd be a good fit for our family. He would be a perfect fit. We'd be glad to have him." Ash adds.

"Well then, that's great. Um, one of our policies is that you start to meet with Noah for the next month, twice a week, just to get to know each other. You'll tell him about your other children, he'll share some things about himself..it's a great experience." Andrea says.

~~~~~~~~

It's been a few days since Whitney and Ashlyn met Noah. They haven't told their kids anything about it. Ashlyn has been doing some overtime at work in order to pay for the adoption dues and everything else. Whitney and Ash decided that today they should tell the other six.

"Guys, family meeting." Ash says as she sips her coffee one Saturday morning.

"What's going on?" Jonah asks as he sits on the couch in the living room.

"Yea we don't usually have family meetings.." Taylor says sitting down last.

"Well, we have something important to talk about." Whitney says sitting next to Ashlyn.

The kids look at them, nervous for what's coming next.

"We're not moving right?" Jordyn asks.

"No, we're not moving. This thing will affect our family in a good way." Ash answers.

"Are we getting another dog?!" Bryce asks excited.

"No sweetie, 2 dogs are enough." Whitney chuckles as she rubs the back of Bryce's head.

"We're actually welcoming another child." Ash calmly states.

6 heads stare off.

"You guys okay?" Whit asks.

No answers.

"We got a call about a 15 year old boy who needs a home. His name's Noah and he's a football quarterback, who likes to draw and play video games." Whitney says.

All the kid's heads shoot up.

"Will he be our brother?" Bryce again asks.

"Possibly." Ash says.

~~~~~  
The talk was finished up. All the kids were excited that they would have a new brother. Whitney was excited. Ash was excited. A new addition is always exciting, even when it's not a baby.

"So a new kid.." Ash says wrapping her arms around Whitney.

"Well not yet at least...remember since he's 15, he decides for himself if he wants to be adopted." 

"Right..but I love him already, so let's help him feel at home." Ash grins.

"Oh definitely..I hope he's okay with having two moms."

"Well at this point I think he'd take a wolf pack for a family."

Whitney pouts and turns around to Ash, pecking her lips.

"What was that for?" Ash chuckles.

"Well its a symbol of affection...and I love you."

"Hey haven't said that in a while." Ash says acting surprised.

"Yea well..it's true. Even when we fight I still love you.." Whitney grins.

"Diddo." Ash smilies while kissing her wife.

The two go off to bed and dream about what their family will become.


	6. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes good things fall apart so things can get even better...

Today is a big day. Whitney and Ashlyn are going to talk to Noah. They're excited. They're nervous.

"How ya feeling?" Whit says wrapping her arms around Ash's waist.

"Good..I'm excited." Ash smiles.

"I hope he likes us.." Whitney says taking a sip of coffee.

"He will..he seems like a great kid."

"Yea..but he seems..i don't know, anxious.." Whitney adds.

"I would be anxious too if I lived alone my whole life dreaming of my soon to be family." Ash answers.

"You're right..poor kid."

~~~~~~  
Ash and Whitney get ready to go, say goodbye to their kids and get to The their car. At last minute, Taylor runs out of the house with her soccer bag.

"Oh that's right..Taylor has soccer practice." Whitney reminds Ash.

"Forget me again?" Taylor chuckles as she gets in the back seat.

"Just got a lot on our minds kid." Ash says looking in the mirror to Taylor.

Whitney smiles at this. Taylor has always been the very calm child. She's not one to get nervous or anxious. Her daughter reminded her a lot of her old teammate Tobin Heath. Taylor loves Brazilian soccer, she's actually adopted from Rio! She is calm and "chill" as her siblings say, and doesn't like wearing shoes.

"Is this a game or practice?" Ash asks while trying to keep her eyes on the road.

"In practice scrimmage.." Taylor quickly answers.

Ash raises her eyebrows and smiles, she can never get a simple answer out of her kids.

The black Range Rover pulls up to the PDA Maryland complex. See, a few years ago, Whit and Ash's friend Heather O'Reilly became the head of National PDA soccer in New Jersey, then expanded the club to Florida, Maryland and Portland, therefore giving Taylor a chance to play the sport she loves. Whit can see the drive and passion Taylor has, and thinks she'll make it through high school, college and the pros, if she works hard enough.

"Bye.." Whit says as Taylor jumps out of the car.

Whit rolls her window down and Taylor comes up to the door and says, "I'll need a pickup at 5."

"Gotchu.." Ash answers.

The two watch their daughter run in and pull away, now shifting their focus to Noah.

~~~~~~~~  
They're about 30 minutes into their hour and a half drive to the boys home. Ash gets a call on her cell phone, but she's driving so she lets it go. Then Whitney gets one on her phone, about a minute later.

"I hope nothings wrong.." Ash said out loud.

"Hello?" Whit says into the phone.

"Hi is this Taylor Harris' guardian?" A voice says.

"Yes it is, who is this?" Whit asks while getting worried.

"I'm Coach Blanchard's assistant, Coach Roane. I'm calling to tell you that Taylor tore her ACL in a scrimmage and is on her way to the hospital with Coach Blanchard."

"Oh my god, which hospital?" Whitney says gasping and covering her mouth.

"Maryland State University Medical Center, she's on an ambulance ma'am."

"Alright we'll be there as soon as we can. Thank you."

Whitney ends the call.

"What happened?!" Ash asks.

"Taylor tore her ACL, we have to turn around."

"Alright, but what about Noah?" Ash points out.

"We'll have to call Andrea and let her know we can't make it. Right now our priorities are on our definite children..not our indefinite children." Whitney states.

~~~~~~~~

Ash and Whit run into the ER.

"Hi we're here for Taylor Harris." Ash says to receptionist.

"I'm sorry we can't let you back, she already has a guardian with her."

"That's my daughter, she needs us back there. Please just let us go back." Ash says sternly.

The receptionist looks up at Ashlyn, not changing her mind.

Whitney puts her arm on Ash's shoulder and moves her to the side. Whit's going to try the nice approach.

"Listen, our daughter was at soccer practice when she tore her ACL. Her coach called us and specifically told us to come."

"Fine, she's in room 202." The receptionist sighs.

"Thank you so much." Whitney says calmly walking away, with Ash following.

"How did you do that? You didn't even flirt with her.." Ash chuckles.

"Hey I'm a lawyer, it's called playfully defying." Whitney says pressing the elevator button.

~~~~~~~  
Taylor is lying on her back with her hands over her eyes when her parents walk in.

Ash immediately goes to Taylor's side while Whitney figures she should talk to coach.

"What happened?"

"Well she was playing great. Got caught up in tackle, her body went one way, her knee the other." The man plainly stated.

"How far does this set her back for the season?"

"Well players tear their ACL's all the time, doctors know how to treat it. She'll get surgery in a few weeks and then she'll be back next season."

Whitney thanks coach and lets him go back to his job at the PDA complex.

"My life is over." Taylor cries.

"No it's not sweet heart, this is just a minor setback." Whitney says walking over to Taylor and rubbing her arm.

"Why did this have to happen to me.." she whines.

"This will make you stronger Tay, you don't realize that now, but it will." Ashlyn coos.

The doctor then comes in, tells that Taylor will need surgery and then puts a brace on her knee, then letting them go home.

Taylor needed to go back to the field to get her stuff, so Ash drove her there and dropped Whitney off at the end of their street to check on the rest of the kids. She then gets a call from Bryce and Jonah.

"What's up guys.."

"Mom there's this weird man outside the house.." Bryce answers.

"What..did you tell the older kids?" Whitney says starting to walk faster.

"Yea, Brendan and Dalton were too interested in their video games, Jordyn said she'd be down in a minute..she's here now." Jonah chimes in.

"Give the phone to Jordyn." Whitney asks.

"Hello?" Jordyn says into the phone.

"Your brothers say there's a weird man outside the house, is that true."

"Yea...it looks like a young man though. He's just sitting on the steps looking around, doesn't seem much harm actually."

"Alright I'll be right there." Whitney says hanging up.

~~~~~~  
Whitney walks up the driveway and sees that the "creepy man" was Noah, I guess he wanted to come visit.

"What are you doing here.." Whitney says calmly while walking up to the boy.

"Oh you're here..thank God." Noah says lifting his head.

"Something wrong?" Whitney says stopping in front of him.

"No, it's just..well you missed our meeting today...I thought you didn't want me any more... I really liked you and your family, I wanted to see if you'd take me back.."

Whitney grins at the boy and then sits down next to him.

"Noah..I can tell you right now that we are not the family that leaves people all alone. We were on our way to the meeting when we got a call that our daughter Taylor tore her ACL. We needed go to the hospital to be with her."

"Oh..I'm sorry..I'm so used to being abandoned."

From that statement, Whitney wanted to cry right then and there.

"So does Andrea know you're here." Whit says smoothly.

"No..I kinda snook out." Noah grins.

"Okay well then..why don't you come inside, we can call Andrea, you can meet the rest of the family and stay for dinner. Ash and Taylor should be home any minute."

Noah smiles as he stands up with Whitney and enters the house.

~~~~~~~~

"Guys, can you come down here." Whitney says to the whole house. 

Bryce and Jonah come running from the basement. 

"Oh perfect.." Whit says looking at her two youngest, "Noah, this is Jonah and Bryce." 

"Hey." Noah says waving.

"Hey, sorry we thought you were a murderer trying to kill us." Jonah says shaking Noah's hand. 

"Yea..you don't seem like a murderer.." Bryce says doing the same.

"Yea, I'm far from being anything like that." The older boy chuckles.

Right then, Jordyn comes from the kitchen.

"Who's this?" She asks her mom.

"Jordyn this is Noah..Noah, Jordyn, number 3 of 6." Whit gestures.

"Nice to meet you." Jordyn says extending her hand. They shake.

"Did you walk all the way from Annapolis?" Jordyn asks.

"Haha no..I walked all the way to the train station and then rode here. I have my ways of getting around." He laughs.

Dalton then comes down the stairs, sitting and then sliding down the stair rail. 

"What's up brotha..you must be Noah." Dalton says giving the other boy a bro hug.

"That's me." Noah answers.

"Anyone know where Brendan is?" Whit asks.

"He's all caught up in that Fornite. I swear he has no social skills anymore.." Jordyn chuckles. 

"I'll go talk to him.." Whit says going up the stairs, "..Can you guys start dinner, we'll be right down." 

"Sure...I'll put the boys to work." Jordyn says acting as the boss.

~~~~~~~

Whit knocks on Brendan's door of the room he shares with Dalton. 

"B..can you come downstairs? There's someone I want you to meet." 

No answer.

"Brendan.." Whitney says walking closer to her son. 

"What..." Brendan says with his eyes glued to the screen. 

Whit looks at the boy, and puts her hand on his head, running her fingers through his short, brown curly hair. 

"Noah's downstairs, I want you to meet him." Whit says again.

"I don't wanna meet that snob." Brendan answers.

'Why not..you haven't even met him yet..why do you think he's a snob?" Whit asks concerned. 

"Because all quarter backs are like that...trust me from playing football all my life and being a wide receiver, quarter backs think they're all that. He's heads too big for his body." Brendan snarls.

"Actually Noah's very quiet. He loves football just like you, and hasn't had the chance to even play for a high school team. Plus...he's a patriots fan." Whit says hopeful.

"Really?" Brendan says excitedly.

"Yeah, he was born in Boston..Now come meet him before the social worker realizes he's gone and comes to pick him up." 

"He ran away?" 

"Yea he thought we abandoned him, he wanted to see what was happening.." 

"Wow that's pretty cool. No one's every done that for our family before...I guess that guy's alright." Brendan says getting up.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Whit walks in with Brendan and sees Jordyn helping Jonah and Bryce chopping peppers, Dalton stirring something in a pot, and Noah taking something out of a cabinet. 

"Everything alright here?" Whit asks. 

"Yep." Dalton says. 

She looks at Noah and smiles, he smiles back. 

Right then, Ash comes into the kitchen. 

"Hello.." Ash says kissing Whit's head. 

"Hey, how's our patient." Whit says wondering about Taylor.

"Sulking, in pain..but she's staying positive." 

"Poor thing, how about you guys go in and cheer her up?" Whit says looking at the kids.

Jordyn gets up and goes into the living room, sisters help each other out. Bryce and Jonah follow, with Dalton right behind them. Brendan gets up from the stool he was sitting on and starts walking to his siblings.

"Let's go dude." He says nudging Noah's arm playfully.

Noah grins and starts to follow Brendan. 

"Hey that's new." Ash chuckles as he holds onto Noah's arm as Brendan goes into the living room. 

Noah looks at Ash, ashamed of what he had done. About running away.

"What's with the sad look?" Ash says as she wraps her arm around Whit's shoulder. 

Noah doesn't answer.

"Why are you not talking all of the sudden?" Whit asks.

Whit and Ashlyn look at the boy, concerned. 

"Noah..." Ash says.

"It's nothing.." He says putting his head down.

Whitney goes over and puts her arms around the boy.

'What's wrong.." 

"It's just...this is usually the time where I put my heart and soul into getting to know a family, and then they call Andrea, I get sent to another home, and they never come back for me." He says as a tear slips down his face. 

Whit pulls Noah in for a hug, pulling his head into her chest, stroking his head. He starts to cry. Ash joins the hug, noting felt so right. 

Noah looks up at the couple, as Whit wipes his tears away. 

"How about..we call Andrea, ask if you can stay the night. And then drive you back tomorrow and begin the adoption process." Ashlyn grins.

'What..really??" Noah says smiling at Ash. 

"You fit perfectly into this family." Whit adds. 

"And we want you to be apart of it forever." Ashlyn says sweetly. 

Noah cries some more, and Ash and Whitney tighten their hug.

They finish up in the kitchen and then go out with the rest of the kids. 

"Hey Noah.." Taylor chuckles, you can tell she's in pain.

"Hey..you must be Taylor..I'm sorry about your injury." Noah smiles as he shakes Taylor's hand. 

"Come watch the Pats game Noah.." Brendan says.

"Oh yea sure..I love the Pats." Noah says sitting down. 

"Whose you favorite player?" B asks.

"Ah man gotta love Gronk or Brady." 

"Really...dude Gronk's my favorite player too." 

"Yea he's awesome, best tight end out there." 

The two boys kept talking about the New England Patriots until dinner was ready. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Harris family finish dinner and then clean up. Ash and Whitney then decide it would be a good idea to sit down and get to know each other more. 

"So..mom and I thought it would be a good idea that everyone tries and gets to know each other more. So, let's go around in a circle and say name, birthplace, birthday, and grade." Ash says putting her arm around Whit.

"Dalton, you go first." Whitney says looking at her oldest. 

"Okay, I'm Dalton. I was born on October 5, 2002 in Oakland, California. I am 16 years old and in the 10th grade." 

Dalton smiles and then looks at Brendan. "I'm Brendan, I was born July 8, 2003, I am 15 years old, in 9th grade and was born in New York City." 

You can see Noah taking in all this information, and trying to remember it. 

"I'm Jordyn, I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 19, 2003. I am 15 years old and in freshman year of high school." 

Taylor's lying down with her hands over her face. "Taylor. June 29, 2003. Rio Belo Horizonte, Brazil. 15. 9th grade." 

Then Jonah says, "My name is Jonah. I was born in Austin, Texas. I am 12 and in the 6th grade. My birthday is June 6th, 2006."

Everyone looks at Bryce, who's next. "I'm Bryce. I was born in Baltimore, Maryland on October 15, 2007, and I'm 11. 

"Your turn Noah.." Jonah says looking happily at the older boy. 

"Um, I'm Noah. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 8, 2003. I am 15 and in the 9th grade." 

~~~~~~~~~~

That conversation really helped the family to get to know Noah more. Now, they're dispersed around the house. Jordyn is sitting with Taylor watching a movie. Brendan is with Noah playing Madden. Bryce and Jonah are playing with their legos in the basement. And Dalton is getting his stuff together to move to his new room, considering Noah will be rooming with Brendan when he's adopted. 

Whitney and Ash called Andrea before dinner, and they got her secretary. They're worried that Andrea won't believe them when they say Noah came to them, for it's a big crime of taking an orphan without consent. Noah could be sent away and never heard from again. 

Then there's a knock at the door. Ash opens it nervous. There in the doorway was Andrea with police men and patrol cars. 

"Mrs. and Mrs. Harris...we need a word." The police man says.


	7. God's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yea, they wishin on me...

"Mrs. and Mrs.Harris, we need a word.." The police man says.

"Please come in officers." Ash says opening the door wider.

The police squad, along with Andrea, come inside the house.

"We have a problem.." Andrea says.

"What is it?" Whit asks.

"Well it seems that Noah has ran away.." Andrea continues.

"You didn't get our message Andrea?" Ashlyn says.

"What message?" She says confused.

"Noah ran away to here this afternoon..He's upstairs. We were going to drive him back up tomorrow." Ash replies.

"Oh..why that's great..we didn't need all the police then..sorry gentleman.." She says kinda embarrassed. 

The police cars leave and Andrea continues talking to Whitney and Ash.

"I'm so sorry for the scare! It's just Noah is known to run off at times." 

"No problem at all..We should've tried harder to get in touch with you. He's fitted in so well, he didn't seem like a huge problem." Whitney explains. 

"Really? Well, I'm glad he's fitting in so well..But I will need to talk to him once again about the dangers about running away." 

"Of course..I'll go get him." Ashlyn says getting up and walking over to the stairs.

~~~~

"Hey Noah, can you come down to the living room for a sec?" Ash says walking into Brendan's room.

"Why.." Noah says getting nervous.

"Just want to talk." Ash grins while she puts her hand on Noah's back, guiding him to the stairs. 

~~

"Hello Noah." Andrea says from the couch.

Noah turns around and looks as if he's going to run, but Ash stops him. 

"She won't take you away from us. We would never let that happen." Ash whispers in his ear.

"Hey Noah.." Whitney says coming over to the bottom of the stairs. "...Andrea came by to just talk to you.." 

"Why.." The blonde boy says being careful.

"I wanted to have yet another conversation with you about running away from your problems." Andrea says still on the couch. 

Noah's eyes dart to Andrea, and fill with anger. Ash guides him down the bottom of the stairwell where Whitney rubs his back and walks with him to the couch.

"So..Noah, do you like it here with Whitney and Ashlyn?" Andrea asks while looking down at her paper work. 

"Yea, it's absolutely amazing." Noah says grinning.

"Good..do you think you would like living here?" 

"Yea, there's so many people you would never get bored." 

Andrea glances at Whitney who glances at Ashlyn.

"Well then congratulations Noah." Andrea grins.

"Congratulations for what?" Noah says confused. 

"For finding your forever family, Mr. Noah Harris." 

Noah starts to cry and Whitney takes him into her arms. 

"We love you buddy." Ash says joining the hug. 

"You mean I'm really being adopted??" 

"Yea, we're going to the court house this Saturday and you will officially be apart of our family." Whitney smiles.

"I can't believe this is happening." Noah says wiping a tear.

The three hug again. 

"What's going on here?" Dalton says coming down the stairs, followed by Brendan, Jordyn and Bryce. 

"Yea, what's everyone so happy about?" Taylor says hobbling into the room from the kitchen, alongside Jonah. 

Ash grins at her other 6 children and then starts, "Well we have some big news...As of now, Noah will be a permanent member of our family." 

"You mean like a brother?" Bryce asks excited.

"Yep, we are adopting him." Whitney answers her son.

"There you go dude!" Dalton says coming over to the three and joining the group hug.

"That's awesome.." Brendan says following. 

Taylor crutches over and sits on the couch, playfully messing up Noah's hair. 

"5 brothers..wow.." Jordyn says chuckling. "..You're pretty cool Noah." 

Noah is gleaming. Never in his life has he felt this good. Things can only get better from here.

The family of 9 continues their giant group hug. 

That night, Whitney decides to write more of her blog:

It's funny how single moments can affect your thinking and decision making. Ashlyn and I got into a bit of a spat about two weeks ago resulting in me taking a trip to California. She and the kids sweetly surprised me and then we decided that we wanted to renew our wedding vows. Along with that, we have a new member joining our family. No, it's not a dog, but yet another child. Noah has blessed our lives in so many ways just in the few weeks that we've known him. We are now in the adoption process and are excited to have him be an official Harris. Meanwhile, Ash and I are trying to figure out how we are going to continue to support and raise 7 KIDS. But, we'll just have to leave that in God's hands.


	8. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day where you can anything you want...What will Noah choose?

Noah found out he was going to be adopted just yesterday, and was so so excited for what was going to come. He was really starting to feel like apart of the family. He was sharing a room with Brendan, he often played games with Jonah and Bryce, he chatted with Taylor and Jordyn and played many, many video games with Dalton and Brendan. 

"Hey can you guys stop with the video games already? You were up late last night playing too." Whitney says coming into the boys room looking for dirty laundry.

"Can't Mom, Noah's trying to beat my high score on Fortnite, he's so close!" 

Whitney smiles at her sons, she didn't want to break up their fun. 

"Fine. But when you're done with that, turn it off. Mama and I are taking Noah shopping for some new clothes and some things for his side of the room."

"Really?" Noah says excitedly turning around. He was so excited that he didn't see one of the other players on the TV screen come out and shoot him. Noah lost the game.

"Dude! You lost it." Brendan laughs.

"Oops..got a little distracted." Noah chuckles back.

"Guess you're ready to go now then..We'll be waiting downstairs." Whitney smiles while exiting the room.

~~~~~~

Noah runs down the stairs eagerly with Brendan trailing not far behind. 

"I see someone's ready to go." Ash grins.

"Can I go with you guys? I need to have a say in the whole room decorating decisions, it's my room too after all." Brendan states.

"Well you have to ask Noah, it's his shopping spree after all." Whitney says grabbing the car keys.

"Sure, that'd be fun." Noah answers.

"Alright, let's go." Ashlyn says taking the keys from her wife and starting her way out to the car. 

"Jordyn, Taylor watch your brothers. Dalton's lost in his video games." Whitney says to her daughters as she rolls her eyes.

"Got it Mom..I'll take care of them." Taylor smiles goofily.

"You watch her too.." Whit chuckles to Jordyn and gestures towards Tay.

"I am perfectly capable of babysitting on my own." Taylor says.

"Yea okay..learn to walk first." Whitney says closing the door.

"Damn, she got you." Jordyn laughs.

"Shut up J." Taylor playfully says.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"So Noah, any ideas on how you wanna decorate your room?" Ash says while looking in the backseat mirror to the boy.

"Well I love the Patriots after all, I think I want to continue Brendan's room theme." Noah says looking over at his newly found brother.

"Nice choice dude, we need more wall hangings. Dalton absolutely hates the Patriots, it was so annoying." 

They both laugh, which makes Whitney's heart melt. They pull into the Target parking lot and all make their way into the store.

"So what do you want to start with? Clothes, shoes, room.." Whit says as she walks beside Ashlyn, who is pushing the cart. 

"Maybe shoes, this old one's aren't doing justice anymore." Noah says while looking down at his ratty old, dirty converse. He must've had them for like a year and half. 

"Sure...do you know your shoe size?" Ash asks.

"Oh um...." Noah says scratching the back of his head. He was embarrassed for not knowing.

"That's okay, we measure them." Whitney adds as she puts her hand on Noah's shoulder. 

They situate themselves in the shoe department and a sale's worker comes over to measure Noah's foot size. 

"Size 11..Anything over in that section." The girls says pointing to a corner of the department. Noah walks over with Brendan, scoping out the best pair. 

He looks for a while and then sees the perfect pair. Noah picks up the dark red, low top old school vans.

"You like them?" Ashlyn asks.

"Yea, they're perfect." Noah smiles as he continues to admire the shoe.

"You can get a few pairs Noah.." Whitney adds.

"Huh?" Noah asks as he looks at his mother, he was so surprised. 

"Yea, maybe a different color, different style. You need some variety." 

"Oh yea..sure." Noah says continuing to look around.

"Have you ever had more than one pairs of shoes?" Brendan asks.

"Well...no actually. At the home you got a pair each year, but once you got older, when they were low on money, they only give new shoes to the younger kids, and leave the older ones with nothing.." 

"Wow, you should tell that to Jordyn and Taylor, they'd have heart attacks." Brendan then says.

Both Whit and Ash chuckle. 

In the end, Noah leaves with the dark red vans, the checkered vans and a pair of Jordans. 

They went to the clothes section and got some pants, shirts, short and other things. 

Now it was time for decorations. 

"Alright man, let's stick to the theme. I've spent years perfecting it." Brendan says playfully.

The cart fills up with a bed spread, some pillows, a lamp, towels, desk supplies. Noah picks out some really nice framed portraits of some Patriots players, which makes Brendan very happy. Ash is walking with the cart and Whit by her side down an aisle with blankets. They look around and see Brendan, but no Noah!! 

"Ashlyn where is her?!" Whit says getting panicked.

"Let's calm down, he's probably just in another aisle. He wouldn't run away." Ash says leaving the cart with her wife and walking out to the main aisle.

She walks around and finds Noah in the baby aisle. 

"Hey..what are you doing?" Ash says coming up to Noah.

Ash looks at the blonde haired boy, who is holding a stuffed elephant. 

"Hey he's cute..Bryce used to have one of those when he was a baby." Ash says.

"Yea..me too." Noah says quietly. 

Ashlyn thinks for a moment. Noah must be reconnecting with a tough moment in her childhood.

"Do you want to keep it? We could put it in the cart." 

Noah continues to look at the elephant, he was hesitating. 

"Hey..you don't have to be ashamed..If this elephant makes you happy, then we won't deprive you of that." Ash says wrapping her arm around the teen. 

"Thanks Mama." Noah smiles. Ash smiles back. That's the first time he's called her Mama, that was the best thing she could ever hear. 

They walk back to the other two and continue to go to the checkout. Noah still has the elephant in his arms. 

"Where did you find him.." Whit asks, seeing Noah's relationship with the stuffed animal.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later..But he called me Mama!!" Ash says jumping up and down.

"Really?? Wait that means he loves us!!" Whitney says back. They both squeal and hug each other, causing the boys to turn their heads. 

"You're gonna get sick of the real fast." Brendan chuckles.

"How could I? They're too amazing.." Noah says continuing to look at the two women. He was in awe of the love they shared for each other. He's never seen anything like it. He hopes to share this love that the Harris family have. They've been so nice to him. Heck, they even got him the elephant that remind him of his childhood..that was really sweet. 

It was nighttime already. Noah set up his side of the room, with the help of Dalton and Brendan. Brendan was fast asleep on the left. side of the room. Noah, on the other hand, was wide awake. Whitney comes into the room to check on them and see's Noah tossing and turning. 

"Everything alright?" Whit whispers.

"Oh yea..just can't sleep." Noah answers. Whitney crouches down next to the bed and notices the stuffed elephant on a shelf right beside Noah's bed.

"May I ask why that elephant means so much to you..." 

Noah takes a gulp. "Well I got something just like that when I was born..when I went to the orphanage, it was the only thing I had left from home. It was the only thing that survived the fire." 

"The fire?" Whit asks.

"Yea..my house burnt down when I was 3 years old. Both my parents died. I don't remember them, so this elephant is kinda a way of me remembering my parents..Other foster homes don't like that..They say I should just forget them already." Noah says sadly. 

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that..But you know what we do in this house?" 

"What?" 

"We embrace our scars..Everyone in this house has a rough past..But we embrace it, because those are the things that make us who we are." 

Noah smiles as Whitney grabs the elephant off of the shelf and tucks it into his arms. 

"I'm really curios about everyone's story now." 

Whitney grins and says, "Well it's not too late, why don't you come downstairs and we can talk."

~~~~~~~

Noah follows Whitney into the living room and onto the couch.

"So who's story are you wondering about..." 

"Just tell me everything." Noah grins.

"Alright well..Ash and I have had very rough paths..Her father was an alcoholic, and cheated on her mother many many times, a he's know in jail. I have never even met him. So she has a rough childhood in that way..You following me?" 

Noah shakes his head yes. 

"And I had a completely normal childhood. I had a brother and life was alright. Until, I was 18 years old and my brother was in a fatal car accident..His friends car was hit by a drunk driver and was killed. And it was so hard for me to process his death..I didn't want to do anything after that. I just wanted to stay home and cry. I didn't even want to fulfill my scholarship at UNC, but in the end I'm so glad I did. Because, there I met Ashlyn and the rest is history. So that's why we have both been sober for 22 years and counting. We promote absolute fun in this house, because living life to the fullest is the most import thing in our eyes." 

"Wow, that is quiet a story." 

"And I'm not even done yet...After we got married we looked into adoption, because at the time fertility wasn't working out and the agency found us Dalton, who was severely abused and neglected. He has this scar on his face, and it's from being hit in the face at only 2 days old. And that hit very close to home, because Ashlyn's father was an alcoholic, just like Dalton's birth parents where, so it only felt right to take him in."

"Is he all right now? Has it affected him in any way?" Noah asks.

"Not horrible ones..He does occasionally have sleep disturbances, like really bad nightmares. But he hasn't had one in a while..But other than that no...Too much for you?" Whit says looking at the look on Noah's face.

"No it's fine. It's just you never would've thought that. He's so uplifting now." 

"See what a little love and care could do to a person." 

"...Could you tell me about Brendan?" 

"Sure..Brendan was born addicted to heroin. His birth mother was a drug addict, so he was taken away from her right after he was born." 

"And is he fine now?" 

"Well he has sever ADHD, but he takes medicine for it every morning."

"Wow..." 

"And Jordyn was a pre-mee, had a lot of breathing problems and wasn't expected to live long at all. Even the agency warned us that if we adopted her, she could die the next day..But we did, she got over it and she's absolutely fine now..She doesn't even have asthma." 

"That's a miracle." 

"Yep sure is..And then Taylor was adopted from Rio, from a very poor part that couldn't support her any longer. Her family gave us their blessings to adopt her while on a vacation there. And she's been living in the states ever since then." 

"Does her family ever want to see her again?" 

"Well they gave us their blessings as her new family. They wanted her to have a good life and to grow up to a be a good person. They never gave us their names, so there is no way to get in touch with them." 

"And Jonah?"

"Jonah is Jordyn's biological brother, meaning they have the same biological father. The adoption agency called us when Jonah was 2 saying that he was neglected by the same man who abandoned Jordyn. We wanted to reunite them, so we adopted him...And he's a shy kid because of all he's gone through. Doesn't talk too much." 

"And then there's Bryce, but you had him didn't you?" 

"Yes..he is Ashlyn and I's biological son..And we tried for years and years to have a child naturally, but it never worked out. So we found out I was having 2 babies, Bryce and his twin. And when Bryce was born, his brother Liam was stillborn. And that was absolutely heartbreaking for us. To lose a child, was so so hard. And it's something I never want to go through ever again..But you know what?" 

"What?" 

"Ever since then..that day 9 years ago, I was secretly praying for another child. And I guess my prayers have been answered." Whitney smiles.

"My prayers have been answered too." Noah grins. 

Whitney brings in Noah for a hug and kisses his head. 

"No go on and get to bed, you've got a big day tomorrow." 

Noah gets up and starts to walk up the stairs. He stops..

"Something wrong?"

"....I love you."

Whitney smiles, she can't believe he said that.

"I love you too buddy.." 

And they all went off to bed.


	9. The Big Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noah finally gets adopted...he's been dreaming of this forever

Today is the biggest day of Noah's life. The day he was going to be adopted.

"Ready for today?" Brendan asks sleepily while getting out of bed.

"Never been more ready for anything in my entire life." Noah smiles.

Brendan smirks and makes his way over to Noah, who's standing.

"Welcome to the family bro." He says bringing in the boy for a hug.

"Thanks Brendan..I'm so excited." Noah chuckles.

"You should be..we're a fun bunch. And we love you." Brendan says putting his hand on Noah's shoulder.

Noah grins uncontrollably.

"What's going on in here?" Whitney says while coming in the door way.

"Just some bro love." Brendan answers.

"Some bro love..I see." Whit says going over to the boys. She brings them both in for a hug. Brendan and Noah, both quiet taller than there mom, ease into the hug. Hugs are the best aren't they?

"Time to get ready, we have to leave in a half an hour." Whit says letting go of her sons.

They both nod. Noah puts in a light salmon vineyard vines shirt his new Grandma Tammy sent him along with some chino pants and his dark red vans. Brendan also has on a vineyard vines shirt, but light blue, from his grandmother. Also some cargo pants and a pair of adidas sneakers.

~~~~~

"Everyone ready? We gotta get going." Ashlyn says while going into the kitchen in a dark blue dress shirt, tucked into some dark navy pants with a gold chain around her neck.

"I'm ready." Jordyn says sitting at the counter in her navy dress.

"Of course you are." Ash grins.

"Jordy can you go help your brothers with their ties, I can't get them." Whit says coming into the kitchen as well.

"Yea." Jordyn says while getting up from her seat and walking into Bryce and Jonah's room.

"Do I have to wear this dress shirt?" Dalton whines as he pulls on the collar.

"Yes..it's a special day for Noah, we want everything to go smoothly." Whit answers while removing her sons hands from his collar and fixing it herself.

"Ready to go." Brendan says coming into the kitchen and taking out the carton of milk.

"Don't dare get that on your shirt." Ash says stirring her coffee.

"Fine." Brendan sighs while putting the carton on the counter so he could go over and get a cup.

Noah comes into the kitchen silently. He was nervous and excited.

"There he is." Ash smiles.

"Ready for this Noah?" Whitney gleams.

"Never been more excited in my life." Noah smiles.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The family of 9 pulls up to the front door of the court house. Everyone files out of the giant car and starts walking into the offices.

"Remember when we came here to get our marriage license?" Whit whispers to Ash and she intertwined their hands.

"Like it was yesterday." Ash says raising the mess of intertwined fingers and kissing it.

~~~~

"Hi the Harris Family, we have meeting with Judge Doyle." Ash says to the lady at the front desk.

"Yes he's been expecting you. The first office on the right." The young woman states.

The kids make their way to the seating area while Whitney, Ashlyn and Noah go to the judges office.

"Ah Mr.Harris, how are you doing this fine morning?" The man says extending his hand to Noah.

"I'm doing great."

"Good, better now that your getting adopted now huh?" The man chuckles.

Noah nods. The judge introduces himself to Whit and Ash and then the seat down for a little meeting.

"So right now, I'm going to ask Noah some personal questions, about making his decision to be adopted. He is the only one who can speak and his answers are final." The judge says.

Whitney and Ash nod, they are so nervous. Whit holds Ash's hand, it gave her comfort.

"Noah, you have been the foster care system for quiet a while. I'm encouraged to ask you these questions so we don't think you're just getting adopted to be adopted. This will be your forever home, and there's no turning back."

"I understand." Noah says.

"Do you like the family?"

"I love them."

"Do you understand that they are two woman instead of a man and a woman.."

"I do."

"Are you okay with idea of never having a father?"

"I am perfectly fine with it."

"Do you understand that once you are adopted no prior family members of yours can get in touch with you."

Noah's face freeze. "...someone was trying to find me?"

"Why yes, your paternal grandmother was trying to meet you, but she past about 2 years ago."

Noah stares at the judge blankly.

"Do you understand son?"

"I..I do."

"Do you understand that your will be joining a family of six prior children and that you will not be the center of attention at all times."

"I do."

"And most importantly, are you happy?"

"I am...extremely happy."

Whit and Ash smile to each other.

"Very well, Whitney, Ashlyn please stand."

The women do as told.

"Do you, by law, promise to forever protect Noah through his life and ventures?"

"We do." They both say.

"And to support him through anything and everything?"

"We do."

"But the state of Maryland, I hereby approve this adoption. Please sign these documents."The judge says opening a folder. 

The three sign the papers.

"Well congratulations Noah..have you chosen your full name for your birth certificate?" The judge asks.

"Oh..I didn't know I had to do that." The boy answers while looking at Whit and Ash.

"Actually, we have a middle name that you might like...we love it." Whit says. 

"I'll give you three a few moments to talk this out." Judge Doyle says exiting the room.

The man closes the door behind him.

"What's the name?" Noah asks.

"..Well we thought long and hard about your middle name.." Ash starts.

"..and we thought that the name Matthew would be perfect." Whit finishes.

Noah smiles. 

"It means Gift from God, and that's what you are to us." Ash says.

Noah is still smiling uncontrollably. 

"Do you like it?" Whitney asks.

"Yea..actually when I went to the home, they asked me if I wanted to change my name. I almost chose Matthew actually." The boys says grinning the ground.

"Well then it's perfect for you..Noah Matthew Harris." Ash smiles.

The three once again hug for like the 500th time that day. 

"I see we've come to a conclusion." The judge smiles as he walks back in the office.

"Yes." Noah grins.

"Why don't the other kids come in now." The judge says to Ashlyn.

"Sure." Ash says 

All the other 6 come in. 

"Well this is a momentous occasion for your family. You go from 8 to 9. Do you kids promise to love and support Noah as your brother?" The judge asks.

"Of course." Jordyn says.

"Everyday." Taylor adds.

"Yea." Dalton says as Jonah and Bryce nod in agreement. 

"Always." Brendan says last. He nudges Noah's arm and smiles. 

"Well then congrats again Noah, you are now a Harris." 

The room erupts in cheering. Noah smiles and hugs both Whitney and Ashlyn, followed by the kids jumping on him and hugging him. 

This was it. The moment he's been waiting for forever. He can't believe it's happening.

"I love you guys." Noah smiles when the group hug ends.

"Aw someone has a huge heart." Taylor says playfully. 

"Little Noah likes us." Brendan chuckles.

They group hug another time. 

"God are we lucky." Ash whispers into Whit's ear.

Whit turns around smiling. "We sure are." 

"Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what."


	10. The First Day of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school jitters take over the Harris house...how will Whit and Ash calm down their nervous bunch?

It's a Monday. Noah was adopted last Friday, which was very emotional for him and the family. He feels so loved by them, and the judge could see it.

But now things are starting to settle down. Whit and Ash have arranged for Noah to go to high school with his siblings. He hasn't been educated much, but there are special teachers at the school who can help him progress.

"You excited?" Whitney asks Noah as he takes a mouthful of cereal. He nods.

"You nervous?" She adds. He nods again.

"Don't be bro, the kids at our school are awesome." Dalton says.

"I don't know..I've never been to school before."

"I wish I was in your shoes man..I have a huge math test today." Brendan says coming into the kitchen.

"School's fun anyway Noah, you can join clubs and play sports." Taylor says readjusting her crutches to get her backpack on.

"Do they have football there?"

"Yea, the football players are the most popular kids in school." Jordyn chuckles.

"Nice.." Noah says putting his bowl in the sink.

"Brendan did you take your meds?" Whit asks her son, who's frantically trying to get his stuff together. He's jumping and squirming everywhere.

"Guess not.." Taylor replies to her mother.

Whit takes the bottle of pills and hands it to Brendan, who takes two and swallows them.

"Bus is here!" Bryce yells from the living room.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go..Don't wanna be late on Monday." Whitney says handing last minute lunches to her kids. She kisses each one of them goodbye until it's just her, Noah and Taylor in the kitchen.

"Ashlyn, time to drive Noah and Taylor." Whitney says while walking to Ash's office right next to the kitchen.

"Perfect..just finished some last minute things." Ash says putting her work in her bag and standing up.

~~~~~~~~~

Ash pulls up the front entrance of Lansing High School, in the midst of the chaos. Noah is frightened by it.

"There are so many people."

"It's fine...your classes won't be that big..it's just that this is the beginning of the day, it's always crazy. It'll settle down." Taylor explains.

"You two alright to get out here? I can't be late for work." Ash asks.

"Alright for me..Noah?" Taylor asks.

"This is good." Noah agrees.

Ashlyn says goodbye to Taylor as she hobbles out and then turns to Noah.

"Call or text us if you need anything. Even if you just want to talk." Ash says.

Noah nods and gets out of the car, closing the door behind him.

He walks beside Taylor into the giant school. They arrive inside and Taylor is saying hi to like everyone.

"How do you know so many people?" Noah says in awe.

"When you have an injury you make so many new friends." She chuckles.

Noah chuckles back hesitantly. Was that supposed to be funny?

"Noah, this is my friend Sam..He's gonna take you to his first class. Mine is on the other side of the school." Taylor says as she stops in front of the elevator.

Noah looks at the dark haired Asian boy next to him.

"Nice to meet you Noah, Taylor's told me a lot about you."

Noah smiles and makes small talk, until the bell rings. Sam leads Noah to his first period class and exchanges numbers with him.

"Just text me if you need help getting around." Sam says.

"Thanks, I will."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Noah's morning classes went really well. His teachers are super nice and the material isn't that confusing. Now, it's time for lunch. Brendan texts Noah and tells him to meet him in the cafeteria.

Noah walks into a sea of people. He doesn't know where to go.

"Noah! Over here!" Brendan says standing up and waving.

Noah goes over to his brother and sits with him and his friends. He makes some really nice new friends, Andre, Tyler and Spencer. He looks around and sees Jordyn in the cafeteria too, sitting with her group of friends. Although, she doesn't look too happy to be there.

"Hey look, there's Jordyn" Noah says while nudging Brendan.

"Aw man, that stupid Dylan Hickton is bothering her again.."

"What do you mean?" Noah wonders.

"It's a long story, just promise you'll back me up."

"Sure." Noah agrees. What is he getting himself into?!

Brendan starts walking over to his sister, with Noah following.

"Get off of me Dylan..Stop!" They hear Jordyn say.

"Aw come on..you like it, you're just playing hard to get." The muscly guy says.

"Hey Dylan..get your dirty ass hands off of my sister!" Brendan says.

"What's it to you douche?" Dylan says getting up into Brendan's face.

"She told you to stop, just respect that."

"Oh stop touching her??"

"Yea.."

"Oh well then how do you like this?" Dylan says backing up and pushing Jordyn to the ground. Brendan runs over to Jordyn while Noah steps up to face Dylan.

Noah doesn't give Dylan time to say anything. He just swings a punch and says, "No body messes with my family!!"

Dylan falls to the ground, his nose is gushing blood.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thank you for meeting with me Mrs. and Mrs. Harris, we have much to talk about." The school principal says as he looks at Whit and Ash, who are sitting next to Brendan, Noah and Jordyn.

"It seems that we had a bit of a spat today. It wasn't any of your children's fault, but someone here was definitely at fault in some way." He continues while glancing at Noah. "...Noah I'm not sure how things have gone at prior schools or organizations, but fighting is not the answer here at Lansing High School. Dylan was at major fault, and you were only trying to protect your sister, but there are other ways to fix these sort of problems. Understand?"

"Yes sir.." Noah says with his head down.

"Alright then, you're free to return to class."

The 3 children get up from their seats and go out into the hallway. Right then, Jordyn gives Noah a big hug.

"Thanks for doing that for me Noah, it was really sweet."

"Ah no problem. I'm just glad he didn't really hurt you."

"No dude, that was really cool. We just want you to know we've got your back just like you've got ours. Got it?" Brendan says.

"Got it."

~~~~~~~~

Later that night, after all the kids where in bed, Ash and Whit have a little talk about what happened at school while getting ready to go to bed.

"I think it was really sweet of Noah for sticking up for Jordyn like that." Whitney says while getting under the covers of the couple's bed

"Yea I guess." Ashlyn says while doing the same.

"What do you mean I guess? Do you think he did something wrong?" Whit scoffs while looking over at her wife.

Ashlyn doesn't answer.

"Ashlyn..it's was his first ever day of school, cut him some slack. He didn't know how to act around the other kids." Whit says trying to defend her son.

"I know, but what the principal said..it relay bothered me."

"About what? How he needs to change?"

"Yea...he said that whatever Noah knew in the past, he needs to forget because they don't do things that way there. It was like he thought Noah was a bad influence on his students or something."

"Oh...I never thought about it like that." Whit says while looking down and fiddling with the diamond ring on her finger.

"I'm sure everything will work out, but we're not on good terms with that principal right now."

Whitney looks up and chuckles.

"Well nothing is ever perfect." Whit adds.

"Speaking of perfect, what about renewing our vows?" Ash says while resting her hand on Whit's knee.

"Aw honey, I can't even think about that right now. I mean we still the adoption agency breathing down our necks. Taylor's ACL surgery is next week..We have to get everything worked out at school and both of our families are coming for Easter."

"Could've just said not right now..You don't have to stress me out by saying everything that we need to do." Ash laughs.

Whitney chuckles and they share a kiss.

Ash turns out the light and cuddles up against Whitney. They fall asleep in each other's arms.


	11. You're Alright Now

It's the weekend once again in the Harris household. Noah got through the rest of the school week just fine. He joined the lacrosse team along with Dalton and Brendan and has been going to practice everyday after school. Jordyn is on school government, and she has been going to a few meetings a week about deciding things for prom and graduation. Jonah has been practicing everyday for his piano recital at school for the past month. The recital is quickly approaching, and he is getting a little nervous. Also, Bryce has been playing baseball, and has been doing extra training with Jonah every now and then. And of course, you can't forget Bryce and Jonah's karate lessons, because they will protect the family in case of a zombie attack. But the one child who wasn't too busy was little sweet Taylor. Her torn ACL has been really taking a tole on her.

"Soccer is my life!" Taylor cries as she lies down on the couch.

"I know sweetie, no one deserves these injuries." Whit says coming in with some ice for Taylor's knee and giving her a hug.

"I'm scared for surgery." Taylor sniffles.

"Aw don't be Taylor. Mama tore her ACL in both legs in college and she had a huge professional career after that..Doctors do these type of surgeries all the time." Whit says rubbing her daughter's arm.

"I'm scared I won't make it back the same..I mean I got called into the U-14's just last year..who knows if I ever will again."

"Oh you will..trust me..If you love soccer that much, then you'll be absolutely fine. Recovering will be hard, but it's nothing you can't handle."

"Thanks Mom." Taylor says smiling slightly.

"No problem." Whit says kissing Taylor's head.

~~~~~~~~~~

5 am in the Harris house. It's time to take Taylor to the hospital for her surgery.

Ashlyn stumbles into the kitchen exhausted. Man was it early!

"Remind me again why the doctor has to meet us this early?" Ash asks her wife.

"Because Taylor is paranoid and says that the earlier she gets the surgery, the sooner she'll recover. Even if it's only by a few hours." Whit says while sipping her coffee.

"Right." Ash answers.

Right before they leave, Whitney goes into Dalton's room and tells him they're leaving. Dalton, being the irresponsible person he is, just groans. So Whitney then goes into Jordyn's room and tells her the same thing.

~~~~~~~~

"Taylor Harris?" The nurse says walking out to the waiting room with a clipboard in her hands.

Taylor, along with her parents, stand up and follow the nurse into a room.

"Just put on this gown, another nurse will come and due your vitals and then Dr.Smith will be in."

"Thank you." Whit says for all of them.

~~

"Hello Taylor, I'm Dr.Smith, I will be operating on you today. Any questions or concerns for me?"

"Can we start? I just want this to be over with." Taylor chuckles.

The doctor laughs. "Yes of course..I see someone is very focused to get back to soccer."

"It's all she's been talking about." Ash chuckles.

"Well a little motivation never hurt anyone..The nurse will come in for some pre-op okay?"

Taylor nods and the doctor leaves the room.

~~~~~~~~

It's 4 hours later, Taylor just got out of surgery.

"How did she do?" Ashlyn asks the doctor.

"Very well, everything stayed on course."

"Good, is she awake yet?" Whitney asks.

"Yes, they just wheeled her in. You can go in now."

~~

"Hi Taylor." Ash says opening the door and walking in with her wife behind her.

"Mama?" Taylor cries.

"You're alright now baby, it's all over." Ash says stroking Taylor's hair.

"No more doctors." Taylor whines.

"You're all done for now."

~~

Whitney and Ashlyn helped Taylor from the hospital bed into a wheelchair and then to the car, then heading home.

"Taylor's home!" Jonah yells to the whole house as the family cars pulls up.

"Quick Dalton, help me with the sign!" Jordyn says with a giant piece and paper and tape in her hands.

"I'm gonna go help them, ask someone else." Dalton says running out the door.

"Ughh.." Jordyn says frustrated at her brother.

Noah comes down the stairs slowly and walks over to Jordyn.

"I can help." Noah says quietly.

"Hey thanks a lot, none of the other idiots would." Jordyn chuckles.

"No problem." Noah says taping the last corner.

"We're home." Ash says while opening the front door.

"Hey." Jordyn replies to her mother.

"Can you boys help Dalton with carrying Tay's wheelchair?"

"Sure." Noah says as Brendan follows outside.

There she is. Taylor in a wheelchair with her feet up.

"Can you guys lift he cup the stairs?" Whit asks her 3 older sons.

"1..2..3" Dalton says as Brendan and Noah help lift Taylor off the ground.

"Woo going for a ride..." Taylor says still loopy.

The boys put their sister down in the living room.

"Good men." Taylor says patting Brendan's back.

They all chuckle at her.

The boys go off to doing their own things. Dalton is finishing up some homework, Brendan us playing NBA 2K, and Noah was asked to watch a movie with Jordyn and Taylor. Bryce and Jonah are playing over at the neighbor's house.

"What movie are we watching?" Noah says while sitting on the ouch next to Taylor.

"Mean Girls!" Taylor states crazily.

"I'm sure Noah doesn't wanna watch Mean Girls, Taylor." Jordyn says to her sister.

"No I'm fine with whatever..You're the patient after all." Noah replies to Taylor.

Taylor smiles goofily saying, "You were always my favorite brother."

Noah chuckles at the comment.

~~~~~~~~

The family eats dinner in the living room that night, so Taylor doesn't have to move. They are debating whether to watch a movie or not, but Ash and Whit figured Taylor needed some rest.

"Goodnight Taylor." Bryce says hugging his sister in his pajamas before going off to bed.

"Need any more of your prescription?" Ashlyn asks her daughter.

"No..I'm good..Can I ask you a question though?"

"Yea sure.."Ash says sitting down next to the girl. "..what's up?"

"Does this get easier? This whole recovery thing?"

"Of course it does..Yea, it will be hard trying to get your strength back, but honestly it's the most rewarding thing the first time you step back out on the field...It means you didn't give up on yourself."

"I really wanna get back on the field." Taylor answers.

"I know you do..so just do everything the doctors tell you..You just gotta be patient and remember that they know what they're doing. K?"

"Got it..Thanks Mama."

"No problem...you alright down here by yourself tonight?"

"Yea I'm good."

"Okay, just text Mom and I if you need anything..okay for anything, don't even get up by yourself to go the bathroom."

"Got it Mama." Taylor chuckles.

"Okay..love you." Ash says standing up.

"Love you too." Taylor says as she closes her eyes.

Ash watches her daughter for a few moments, and then turns off the light, going up the stairs.

"Taylor okay?" Whit says in the couple's bedroom while taking her earrings out.

"Yea she's fine..Freaking out about her recovery again." Ash sighs.

"Well you were the same exact way..Twice." Whit chuckles.

"Yea, I guess you're right. And she's even younger than I was."

"Well you still got through it just fine..I'm sure Taylor will be looking to you for advice."

"Yea..I guess..But she doesn't have one thing that I did have through my recoveries."

"What?" Whitney wonders.

"A beautiful girlfriend, now wife." Ash says sweetly while kissing Whit's cheek.

"You're such a dork."Whitney chuckles.

"A dork?" Ash laughs.

"An adorable dork." Whit says back to Ashlyn.

"Well I'm fine with that." Ash chuckles while kissing Whit's cheek onside again. "...goodnight." She continues.

"Goodnight baby." Whitney says still checking herself out in the mirror.

Ash falls fast asleep in the couples bed as Whitney checks on her 7 children. They're all doing just fine, just like Whit thought they would.

She cuddles up against Ashlyn in bed. Putting her head in the crooks of her wife's neck and wrapping her arms around her waist. Everything is going to be just fine.


	12. How Could This Happen?!

It's a busy Friday morning in the Harris household. All the kids are running around doing five thousand different things.

"Mom, where's my athletic cup?" Brendan yells from the laundry room.

"Gross Brendan." Jordyn scowls while she closes a binder. 

"Sorry, but we have a game after school." Brendan says coming into the kitchen and opening up the fridge. 

"Okay, Jordyn I'll drop your campaign posters off at the School Government office during lunch..." Whit says while coming into the kitchen.

"Thanks Mom." Jordyn replies while taking a bite of an apple. 

"Mom, my cup?" Brendan asks again.

"Um, go check the laundry room again, if it's not there check the car or your room, it might've fallen out of your lacrosse bag." Whit says frantically as she starts to sign a pile of papers the kids need for classes, clubs and sports.

Brendan sighs and runs up the stairs just as Noah is coming down.

"Good morning." The boy smiles.

"Good morning..." Whit looks up and smiles. "...you are the first person who's told me that today." She then chuckles.

"Um, I belive I told you that earlier." Ash chuckles as she comes into the kitchen and goes over to the coffee pot.

"Nope." Whit grins as she shakes her head. 

"Oh, well good morning then." Ash says as she kisses Whitney's cheek and pours some coffee into her mug. 

Meanwhile, Dalton comes down with his backpack and gets a bowl for his cereal. 

"Yo I need some milk." He says while tapping his fingers like they are drumsticks. 

"Yo, get it yourself." Ash replies, making her wife chuckle.

Right then, Whit looks up at the clock. 

"Oh you guys, the bus will be here in ten." 

"5 actually, Mom." Jordyn adds.

Ash chuckles at the comment as Whitney looks up at the clock again. 

"What would I do without you Jordy." She says.

"You'd be late everywhere." Jordyn chuckles as she gets her backpack on and throws away her apple core. 

"Okay well then, let's get out to the bus stop..." Whit says while grabbing her phone.

"Brendan, Jonah, Bryce get your butts out to the bus." Whit yells up the stairs. 

Brendan comes running down the stairs. "I still didn't find my cup!" 

"That's okay, I'll go out and buy ya a new one..." Whit says as her son runs past her. "...Jonah? Bryce?" 

"Coming." Jonah says as he comes down the stairs with his backpack. 

"Where's Bryce?" Whit questions.

"Still in bed. He said he didn't feel good." 

"Well then I'll go check on him. Go on without him, I'll drive him to school." Whitney says as runs her hand through Jonah's light brown hair. 

Jordyn and Noah kiss their parents goodbye as they go out the door to the bus. Jonah follows them after her puts his lunchbox in his bag. Dalton runs B-line for the door.

"Eh, eh, eh..." Whit says as her oldest tries to get past her without a kiss goodbye.

"Bye Mom." Dalton chuckles as he kisses the woman's cheek. 

"Brendan, did you take your meds?" Whitney asks in the general direction of her son as Dalton walks out.

"Just did..." B says as he gulps down a glass of water and wipes his mouth. 

"Good..." Whit grins.

"Don't forget the cup." He says as he kisses his Mom's cheek. 

At that moment, Ashlyn reenters the room. Brendon goes over and kisses her cheek as well. "Don't forget to reminder her." he says as he runs out the door. 

"Sure..." Ash smiles as she watches her son. "...What am I supposed to remind you about?" 

Whitney chuckles and rests her hand on Ash's chest. "To buy Brendan a new athletic cup for his game this afternoon." 

"Oh..." Ash chuckles. "...don't forget to buy Brendan a new athletic cup for his game this afternoon." 

Whit chuckles as she kisses her wife's lips.

"I liked that." Ash whispers onto Whitney's lips. 

"Me too." Whit grins as she kisses Ashlyn once more. 

They break and Whitney then realizes that Bryce is still upstairs in bed.

"I have to go get Bryce now." She says.

"He's not on the bus?!" Ash asks. She can't believe she didn't notice he wasn't at breakfast.

"He claims to be sick, but we'll see how long it'll last..." Whit says as she starts walking up the stairs. "...can you go check on Taylor?" 

Ashlyn nods and goes into to see her daughter, who's still sleeping.

~~~~~~

"Bryce? Buddy, it's time to go to school." Whit says while coming into the younger boys' room. 

He just groans.

"Okay Bryce, seriously you're gonna be so late." Whit says while crouching down the level of her son as he lies in his bed. "...What's going on.." 

"My stomach hurts...like really really hurts." Bryce whines.

"Where does it hurt?" 

"Right here." Bryce says as he points to a spot right below his belly button. 

"Huh, that's an odd spot." Whit replies.

"Do you feel nauseous or anything?" 

"No, but I have chills."

"Well why don't you try to go to school, and if you really feel bad then I'll come pick ya up okay?" 

"Okay." Bryce answers.

"Good, now get your clothes on I'll try to get ya there by 8:30." Whitney says as she stands up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How's Taylor?" Whit asks as she meets Ashlyn again in the kitchen.

"Little sore, so I have her some more pain medication. She's gonna try and get more sleep." 

"That's good, sleep will help heal her faster." Whit replies.

"And Bryce?" Ash asks.

"Getting ready. He has a bit of a stomach ache, I think he'l get over it." Whit says again as she sips her coffee. "...are you sure your boss is okay with you working from home this week?" 

"Ah yea, she said that she'd never be able to handle 7 kids on her own, so anyway I could help I should." Ash grins. 

"Good, then can you also fold some laundry while I'm running errands?" Whit asks as she smiles as her wife. 

"Of course." Ash chuckles back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney dropped Bryce off at school about an hour ago, and just finished printing out 100 copies of Jordyn's school government campaign posters at the UPS store. She now needs to go buy Brendan his new athletic cup and then go grocery shopping as well. But she needs to do all of it in 2 hours, considering she needs to go home and tend to her beloved patient, Taylor. 

Right as Whitney checks out at the Sports supply store, she gets a call from Ashlyn. 

"Hey honey, what's up?" Whit says while rummaging around her purse to find her car keys.

"Well I just picked up Bryce from the school nurse, she um thinks we have a bit of an emergency." 

"What? What kinda of emergency? Is Bryce okay?" 

"Yea he's okay, but the nurse thinks he has an appendicitis. We're on our way to the emergency room now." 

"Oh my gosh, I'll be right there." 

"Can you run home and get his medical records? The doctors need that if surgery needs to be done." 

"Yea, see you soon."

Whitney runs out to the car and drives home as fast as she can. 

"Mom?" She hears Taylor say as she enter the front door.

"Hi baby, do you need anything?" 

"Can I have some water?" She says groggily.

"Sure, I gotta hurry thought, Bryce has an appendicitis." 

"What?!" Taylor says sitting up. 

"He'll be fine, but I need to get to the hospital." Whit says running into the kitchen. 

"Is Mama with him?" Taylor asks as her mother comes back into the room with a glass of water.

"Yea, so I need to get the medical papers. Mrs.Turner from next door will be over to check on you and bring Brendan and Jordyn some stuff for school. Text me if you need anything okay?" 

"Okay. Thanks Mom." 

"No problem sweetie." Whit says as she leans down and kisses her daughter's head. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney runs into the ER and the front desk.

"Hi I'm looking for Bryce Harris, he has a possible appendicitis. He's with my wife." 

"Yes, they just checked in. Please follow me." The woman smiles as she gets up from her chair. 

The nurse leads Whitney behind the desk and through the corridor to the room where Ash and Bryce where.

"My sweet little baby boy..." Whit pouts as she comes in the room and goes straight to Bryce. 

"Mommy, it hurts." Bryce cries.

"I know baby, we're gonna find out what's wrong." Whit says while brining in her son and rubbing his back.

"The doctor did some tests before you got here, he'll come with the results soon." Ash says.

~~~~~~~~

The doctor comes in a few minutes later and confirms that Bryce will need surgery to get his appendix removed.

"I'm scared Mama." He says in Ashlyn's

"Don't worry Bryce, you won't remember a thing." 

~~~~~~~~

Bryce went into surgery about 2 hours ago. Whit and Ashlyn haven't left the hospital, but have been updating the kids back at home. 

"Do you think they're fine all alone?" Whit asks her wife.

"Ah yea, I mean they've been left alone before. I'll go and check on them later." Ash says taking Whitney's hand into hers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bryce finally gets out of surgery around 5:30. He's very emotional, but his parents are there to make him feel better.

"No more..." The boy cries.

"No more, you're all done." Whit says as she strokes the child's hand. 

They sit there with Bryce for about 3 hours, as he drifts in and out of sleep.

"Maybe you should go check on the kids...it's almost 9:30." 

"Sure...I'll be back." Ash says as she gets up and kisses Whit's cheek, leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ash steps into the front door to hysteria. 

"Dalton! Mom and Mama are gonna kill you!!" She hears Jordyn yell.

She runs into the kitchen, where she sees an unforgivable sight.

"Mama, what are you doing here...." Dalton says as guilty as ever.

"What the hell is going on here?!"


	13. Learn From Our Mistakes

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"Mama, we can explain." Jordyn answers.

Ash looks around the kitchen, noticing the mess everywhere.

"Mom and I told you no friends could come over." She says sternly.

"We didn't invite them, they just came." Dalton answers.

"That's no excuse..." Ash says walking around. "...where are the other kids."

"Taylor, Noah and Jonah are upstairs. Brendan went out." Jordyn says quietly.

"Brendan went out?!...where did he go?"

"Not sure." Dalton says.

"You're not sure? Oh because you two were too busy creating this huge mess."

"Mama, it wasn't Jordyn's fault. She was upstairs, this was all me." Dalton says putting his head down.

"How many people were over here?" Ash says while looking directly at her son. "...Look at me Dalton."

The boy looks up, ashamed. "...Maybe like 10."

"Were there girls?"

"Yes ma'am."

Ash paces the kitchen floor. "...Jordyn you can go upstairs."

Ashlyn waits for her daughter to get up the stairs before continuing.

"What were you thinking Dalton...what kind of an example are you setting to your younger siblings? To defy orders!?"

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Well if you knew, then why did you do it."

Dalton doesn't answer.

"Was there any alcohol involved?" Ash continues. 

Dalton plays with his fingers.

"Dalton Michael Harris, answer me when I speak to you."

"Yes."

"Yes what."

"Yes, there was alcohol involved."

Ash sighs.

"You drank in my house...where you know the consequences of the evil things it could do!"

"I know Mama, I only took one sip."

"One sip two many Dalton. Go to your room, you're grounded for life."

Dalton walks with his head down.

"Wait..." Ash then says. Dalton turns around. "...tell me where Brendan is."

"I really don't know Mama."

"Ah come on Dalton...was he sober?"

"Yea, but he didn't take his pills at 3 o'clock."

"God help us." Ash says putting her head in her hands.

When Brendan doesn't take his pills, he goes "crazy". Like super jittery and excited, and little too much to handle at times. He could wander off where ever and get so distracted he wouldn't realize what he's doing wrong.

Ash doesn't know what to do. Does she call Whitney and scare her to death? Or does she just lie to her and pretend that everything is fine.

She decides to go check on the kids upstairs.

"Does anyone know where Brendan went?" Ash asks while coming into Taylor and Jordyn's room.

"Jordyn chased him down the street for a couple of blocks until he cut through the woods." Taylor replies.

"Did he say where he was going Jordyn?"

"No, he was just saying that he needs to get away. I think it's because he didn't take his pills, and when I tried to tell him that he got even more enraged."

Ashlyn thinks for a moment. "I should just call the police, I really don't feel like chasing after him."

~phone convo~

"Lansing Police Department, how may I help you?"

"Hi I'd like to file a missing person report."

"Can you describe the person to me ma'am."

"Yes he's my son Brendon. About 5'10", short curly brown hair and brown eyes. He has some ADHD that he neglected to take his medication for, and seemed to wander off."

"I see, can you tell me how long ago he went missing?"

"Yes, about an hour and a half to two hours ago."

Ash then proceeded to tell the officer where they lived and some other personal information.

"Just stay in your house just in case he comes back ma'am. We'll keep you updated."

"Okay thank you so much." 

~end~ 

Ash can't do anything but worry now. She doesn't want to call Whitney, because then she'd get all upset. They really have a lot on their plates. 

It's been about a half an hour of Ash sitting on the living room couch trying to decide what to do with Dalton's punishment and how to talk to Brendan when he gets home. Then she also has to get the house ready for when Bryce comes home from the hospital and give Taylor her knee medication. And with all that, Jonah is super nervous for his piano recital in 3 days, Jordyn wants help with practicing her school government election speech, and both Whitney's parents and her mom are coming for Easter in one week!

She sighs as someone rings the doorbell. Ash gets up from her seat and goes to open the door. When she does, she sees her son, escorted by 2 police officers, in the doorway.

"Good evening ma'am, Officer Delgado, Lansing Police Department. This is your son Brendan correct?" 

"Yes sir." Ash replies while giving a look to Brendan.

"May I see some ID please?" Officer Delgado says while peering into the house.

"Yea, of course." Ash says while taking out her wallet and handing him the card. 

"One moment please..." The man replies as he and the other officer step to the side to review it.

Ash looks at Brendon, and notices one more thing about him. He is in handcuffs! 

"Brendon..." Ash says while staring at the boy.

"I know Mama..." Brendon quickly replies as he begins to cry. "...I know I'm a fuck up. You don't have to remind me..." 

Ash looks at her son, his shirt ripped, hands behind his back and tears streaming down his face. She can't help but feel sorry for him, for she has known him since he was a little baby. He was her little boy.

Brendan sniffles as Ash continues to lean up against the side of the doorframe. She slowly gets closer to him and raises her hand to his cheek, wiping away a falling tear. 

"Hey..." She says.

Brendon looks up at her with his eyes all red.

"...everything will be alright..." Ash continues. "...and you're not a fuck up. You're my son, and no child of mine is anything like that." 

Brendon's frown turns into a bit of a grin. Officer Delgado then walks back to the two. 

"Alright well we found him wandering on a private property in the middle of the woods. The land owners decided not to press charges. You're free to go son..." Officer Delgado says as his colleague unlocks the handcuffs. 

"Thank you Officer, for everything." Ash replies as Brendon steps into the house. 

"No problem, it's our job...You folks have a good night." He nods as he walks down the steps to his patrol car.

Ash closes the door and looks at Brendon. "What now?" The boy asks.

"I don't know..." Ash says honestly. "...one thing though, no one tells Mom until she gets home." 

~~~~~~

It's around 9:30 now, and the kids are getting ready for bed. 

"But Mama, it's Friday night, can't I stay up just a little while longer?" Jonah asks as Ash pulls his blanket over him in bed. 

"Sorry buddy, it's been a long day for everyone...we all just need some sleep." Ash replies as she tucks her son in and kisses his head. 

Ash then proceeds to check on Taylor and Jordyn, warning them not to text Whit about anything that went on that evening. She checks on Dalton, who was already asleep in his room with the light off. She looks on at him for a few minutes, realizing that all teenagers make mistakes, and that her and Whitney would have to teach him this lesson one day. 

Ash walks over to him, and pulling his covers up, kissing his head. She looks down at him once again, she should've listened to Dalton when he was trying to defend himself. But Whit and her will talk to him tomorrow. 

Ashlyn closes the door to Dalton's room and walks down the hallway to Noah and Brendan's room. At first glance, she sees them both in bed. But then, she looks again and sees a light on at Noah's desk. 

"Hey..." Ash says while quietly stepping in the room. 

"Oh hey...sorry I'll finish up here." Noah says while looking back at Ashlyn then down at the paper on his desk.

"No that's fine...doing some homework?" Ash replies while getting closer and looking over the boy's shoulder. 

"Ah no, just doing some drawing." Noah says shyly. 

"Oh wow, that's really good...a fighter plane right huh." Ash says in awe.

"Um yea..." 

"You're really good Noah. Did you ever think of taking some classes?" 

"Well I was never really given the option." He chuckles.

"Right well, I'll to Mom about it in the morning. It's always good to sharpen your skills." Ash says while patting Noah on the back.

"Thanks Mama." He smiles. 

"No problem, don't stay up too late okay?" 

"Sure...goodnight." 

"Night buddy." Ash smiles as he looks over to Brendan fast asleep in his bed, and then back to Noah. 

~~~~~~~

Ash walks back downstairs to get some water when her phone rings.

"Hello?" 

"Hey honey, how are things at the house?" Whitney says on the other end of the call.

"Oh hi, hey..." Ash chuckles nervously.

"Ashlyn...is everything okay?" Whit asks. She knows her wife too well.

"Um, everything's okay now, yes everything is fine." Ash reassures her wife and herself.

"Now? What happened?" 

"Oh nothing huge, after the cops brought Brendan back and the living room was cleaned up, everything went back to normal..."

"What?!" 

"Now Whit, let's come down a bit here, um it's really hard to explain right now, but all the kids are safe and in bed sleeping." 

"Wait a minute here, I told you that we needed to check on them earlier. How could you let this happen Ashlyn?" 

"Well the problem was really out of my hands. We can talk consequences when you get home. Everything's fine okay...How's Bryce?" Ash asks trying to change the subject. 

"Good, the nurses gave him another dose of medicine before he went to sleep."

"Is he feeling better?"

"Yea, the doctor said he might be able to go home earlier than we thought tomorrow." 

"That's good." Ashlyn yawns.

"You sound tired babe, you should get some rest." 

"Yea I guess I should...I love you Whit." 

"Love you too." Whitney sighs.

"Do you really?" Ash jokes.

"Yes Ashlyn...goodnight." 

"Goodnight babe."


	14. Consequences

Today is the day that Whit and Bryce will be coming home from the hospital. Ash was a little nervous, considering Whitney already knew a little about what happened last night. 

Ash wakes up her usual time, around 8:00, and goes down stairs for some coffee. When she gets to the kitchen, she sees that the lights are already on. She knows for sure she turned them off last night, so how did they get on?

She walks further into the kitchen and sees someone sitting at the kitchen table. When she gets closer, she can see who the figure is, and is quite surprised. 

"Jordyn?"

"Oh...hey Mama." The girls says as she looks up from her cereal. 

"What are you doing up so early?" Ash yawns.

"Just couldn't sleep to well last night." She simply answers. 

"Really...Why? You nervous for your election speech or something?" 

"No, I was just thinking about other things."

"I see..." Ash says while pulling up a chair. "...what other things?"

"I don't know, just about last night and stuff." 

"Okay...what's bothering you about it." 

"I don't really know...like I know I didn't do anything wrong, but it just seems like this family can't take a break from something crazy happening. I mean it's only been like 4 months and you and Mom almost got a divorce, Noah was adopted, Taylor tore her ACL, Bryce got his appendix out and Brendan was almost arrested..." 

"Brendan wasn't almost arrested...he was arrested." Ash chuckles, trying to make the mood a little lighter. 

"How are you gonna explain this to Mom? She's gonna get so mad at you, and things will be 100 times worse and then everything will be even more messed up." 

Ash grins at her daughter, she was always the most mature and responsible one, a heavy thinker for sure.

"Jordyn, you are a teenager, teenagers don't worry about this stuff...Just know that everything will be fine no matter what happens. Yes, Mom may be mad at me, but it would never result in a divorce or her leaving again. Please don't worry about this stuff. Live your life care free, like all stupid teens do..." 

Jordyn looks down at her now soggy bowl of cereal, fiddling with the spoon. "You're right...I'll leave all the worrying up to you. But that doesn't mean I'm still not worried about the future of this family." She adds while looking up at her mother.

"Why do you think that the future will be bad? Easter's in a couple of days, spring break vacation...Yea maybe your grandparents will bite my head off about everything that's been going on here but, you know what? I don't care...because you guys are my family. And I know that we will stick together no matter what. Your Mom and I love each other so much, and after all the years of bringing all of us together, we would never ever rip it apart." 

A small grin comes across Jordyn's face. "I guess I never thought about it that way." 

"You think too much Jordy, just focus your time on something you actually enjoy." Ash chuckles as she moves one of her daughters wavy brown stray hair behind her ear. 

Jordyn grins as she pushes her bowl to the side. "Speaking of focusing, I should really practice my election speech some more, I still have a whole page to memorize." 

"Can Mom and I hear it later?" Ash asks as she watches Jordyn get up from her chair. 

"Yea..." She smiles as she grabs her laptop and walks into the living room.

~~~~~~

Ash sits there for a couple more minutes drinking her coffee, trying to figure what to say when her wife comes home. Her thoughts are interrupted when the kids start to wake up and come downstairs. 

"Alright what are we feeling? Waffles, eggs..." Ash says to a yawning Jonah, Taylor and Noah. 

"Waffles..." Jonah replies groggily.

"Okay waffles it is..." Ash replies while going around the kitchen, getting the ingredients she needs.

As Ash puts the batter into the waffle iron, her phone rings. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey babe, coming home now." She hears Whitney say.

"Okay perfect, everything's ready for him here." 

"Okay see you soon."

"Bye." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney pulls into the garage and looks in her rear few mirror to check on Bryce, who's sleeping. As she looks up, she sees Ash coming down the stairs and closer to the car. 

"Hey there..." Ash says Whit rolls down the window of their family's black Suburban. 

"Hey how's everything..." Whit asks nervously. 

"Healing..." Ash says as she rests her arms inside the window. "...we'll need to talk inside." 

"Was it really that bad?" 

"Depends on how you look at it..." Ash says quietly.

Whit tilts her head at her wife, worried about the conversation they will soon have. 

"Want me to carry him?" Whit hears Ash ask.

"Huh?" 

"Bryce...do you want me to carry him into the house?" 

"Oh yea, that'd be great." Whitney says while unbuckling her seat belt. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Noah holds open the door as Ash comes in with Bryce asleep in her arms.

"Hi honey." Whit smiles to Noah as she runs her hand through his hair, coming through the door behind Ash. 

The boy smiles in return, and follows his parents into the living room. 

"We better let him sleep..." Whit says as she rests her hand on Ashlyn's shoulder, who's sitting watching Bryce. 

"Should we talk now?" Ash asks while looking up.

"I think we have to." Whitney replies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash and Whitney then proceed to head to their bedroom to talk privately about what happened last night.

"So what are the consequences..." Ash asks while sitting down on the bed. 

"We can't talk consequences until we talk about what really happened...I mean you said the police came and everything." Whit says seriously as she sits down next to her wife.

"Yea...about that." Ash replies. 

She then proceeded to tell her everything that happened after she got home last night. How Dalton's friends came over with alcohol and trashed their kitchen. And how Brendan neglected to take his ADHD medicine and wandered onto private property, where the police found him and brought him back to the house. 

By the end of the explanation, Whitney has her head in her hands. She then looks up at Ashlyn. Ash expects her to start yelling and screaming at her, but she doesn't.

"Are you mad?" 

"Mad, well a little...But I know it wasn't really your fault. I guess I'm just...disappointed." 

"In me?" 

"No...in Dalton, and Brendon...I mean it was irresponsible for Brendon not to take his meds, he knows he has to do that...But he has no control of what he can do when he doesn't take them...But Dalton...I thought I had more faith in him."

Ashlyn looks at the ground and thinks for a moment. "There is something that I forgot to tell you..." Ash says nervous. 

Whitney looks at her. "What is it?" She asks.

"Well, I forgot to tell you...or actually chose not to tell you was..."

"Ashlyn...what is it." 

"When Dalton's friends came over, they alcohol like I told you, and Dalton had some." 

Whitney stares blankly at her wife. 

"Whitney...say something." 

"I...I can't..." Whitney says as she stares at the ground. "...after his whole life of us teaching him that alcohol and drinking is deadly...he goes off and does it." 

"I had the same reaction, but then I thought about it..." 

"Don't take his side on this Ashlyn." Whit stammers.

"I'm not babe...I'm furious, and we need to teach him a lesson." 

Whitney thinks for a moment. "We should talk to Brendon first..." 

Ash agrees and goes to get him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I know I messed up big time, you don't have to yell at me for it." Brendon says as he sits down in between Whitney and Ash.

"We're not gonna yell at you, we're just gonna have a little talk about responsibility." Ash replies.

"You know Brendan that you have to talk those pills 3 times everyday, and you knew the consequences that your body would take if you didn't. Not only are those pills for your ADHD, they're for your health, and your body will go into shock if you don't take them regularly." 

"I know." The boy replies quietly. 

"If you knew then why didn't you take them..." Ash asks. 

"Because of all Dalton's stupid friends were downstairs yelling and everything. I didn't wanna send the girls or Jonah down, but I didn't wanna go myself." 

Whitney glances up at Ash, who just shakes her head.

"Okay well, none of this was really your fault. But we want you to tell us or text us whenever you take a pill so that we know you didn't miss any." 

"Okay..." Brendon agrees.

"Okay...you're free to go." Whitney as she wraps her arm around her son and brings her in for a hug. 

Brendon lets go of his Mom and head out the door, just to bump into Dalton.

"Dalton..." Whit says. "We need to talk."


	15. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the not the normal talk you get from your parents...if that's what you thought

"Dalton. We need to talk." Whitney says to her son as he looks back at her with fear and worry in his eyes. 

"You'll be fine." Whitney says as she taps an empty spot in between herself and her wife. 

Dalton looks at his parents for a moment before stepping inside the room.

As he walks across the room, Dalton doesn't lift his eyes off the ground, for he is too scared to look the two women in the eyes. 

"So about last night..." Whit begins as Dalton sits down next to her. 

"Yea..." Dalton sighs.

"Why." Whit plainly asks.

"Why what..."

"Why did all of this happen? I mean we told you the rules and you obviously broke them." 

Dalton just keeps his head down, not saying anything.

"Dalton we're not gonna get anywhere if you don't talk." Whit says as she looks onto her son. 

"There's nothing I can say...No excuses, because I know that I made a stupid decision and it created problems." The boy says while playing with his hands. 

Whit looks up at Ash. She felt bad because Dalton felt so bad. 

"Well part of learning from your mistakes is analyzing them...Why don't we talk about what happened, because from what your siblings say, it was quiet a crazy night." Ash says. 

Dalton takes a deep breath before he begins talking. "I was doing some homework until Kyle texted me asking if I wanted to hang out. I said no because you guys weren't home and all that. But he came over anyway, with some other people and a six pack of beer...I told them to get out, but they were all already drunk. That's why the kitchen was trashed." 

Right then, everything started to make sense. Ash and Whit feel bad for being so hard on him at first, instead of actually hearing what he had to say.

"Then how did you end up drinking some beer?" Ash adds.

"Kyle was super super mad when I told them they couldn't stay, and hurled an open bottle of beer at me. Some got in my mouth and the bottle cut my lip." 

Whitney looks at her son, worried because he was injured. She caresses his chin with her thumb as she examines his swollen and purple lower lip.

"We judged the situation too quickly Dalton, and I'm sorry for that..." Whit says as she looks into tan boys eyes.

"Me too...I should've known better to have a little more faith in you." Ash says while putting her hand on Dalton's knee. 

"It's okay...but I still feel bad. Brendan could've gotten hurt, or even arrested because of me." 

"But the lucky thing is...is that he didn't. And that was partially his fault as well, but we forgive both you guys." Whit says as she runs her hand through Dalton's brown curly, ethnic hair. 

"I still don't feel good about it..." Dalton confesses.

"Well that's the way mistakes are supposed to feel...it just means you care about what happened, and that's a good thing." Whit grins.

"Thanks, I'll learn to choose my decisions wisely next time."

"Don't let there be a next time Dalton..." Ash chuckles. 

"Oh right...of course." He smiles back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney is very satisfied about the conversation her and Ash had with Dalton. Now that they know the true story about what really happened, they feel much better about the situation. 

Bryce eventually wakes up, but doesn't want to talk much. Ash and Whit spend some time with him on the couch until he falls asleep once again. 

"Oh my gosh..." Whit says to herself while looking down at her phone. 

"What's the matter?" Ash asks her wife as she walks over to her.

"Spring Break is in 4 days." 

"Yea..." Ash replies, not getting why Whit is panicking.

"My parents and your mom are arriving in 5 days!" 

"Yea and?" Ash chuckles.

"Well I need to go grocery shopping and clean, and do laundry...Plus Bryce will be on bed rest for the next couple of days." 

Ash just grins at Whitney.

"What?" Whit says while looking up.

"What do you think I'm here for? Just to sit around and watch you lose your mind? I can help with everything..." 

Whitney couldn't help but grin at that. It's amazing how just a few months ago she was furious at Ashlyn for not being around and supporting their family. Now she's around to witness, experience and help with every little thing.

"That'd be great." Whit says as she strolls up to Ashlyn and kisses her lips. 

"Just hand me the list and I'll go on my mission." Ash grins when they break.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Whit has been folding laundry next to a sleeping Bryce for the past hour. Ashlyn went out the grocery store with the older boys to do some holiday food shopping. 

Whit looks up when she hears the stairs creek.

"Sorry..." Jordyn apologizes as she walks over to her mother and sits next to her. 

"Oh, it's no problem...what's up with you Jordy?" 

Jordyn picks up one of Dalton's shirts and begins to fold it while talking to her mother.

"Nothing much...I've been running the house the last couple of days." She chuckles. 

"Yes, I heard you made dinner last night." Whit chuckles.

"Yea, but only Noah and Taylor came down to eat it. Everyone else was too upset about what happened last night." 

"It was really that bad huh?" 

"Well not too bad...just a little scary. I chased Brendan into the woods..." 

"Did you really..." Whit says while stopping her folding and looking up at her daughter.

"Well yea...I couldn't just let crazy Brendan run into the woods and get himself hurt."

Whit grins at that as she throws a folded shirt into the laundry basket. 

"You're one special girl Jordyn. You keep this family sane." 

"Thanks Mom." Jordy smiles back. 

The two share a hug as they hear the side door to the garage swing open.

'We're home..." Brendan bellows. 

Whit smiles as she gets up from her seat and goes into the kitchen. Jordyn follows. 

"How was shopping?" Whit asks.

"It was sooo busy, I thought I was gonna die." Brendan replies.

Whit examines her son for a moment, he was offaly jumpy.

"Meds?" She whispers in his ear.

"Why is it that every time I'm excited about something you think it's because I didn't take my meds..." B asks disappointed. 

Whitney looks at him for a moment, realizing he is right.

"You're right B...I should have my trust in you, I'm sorry." She says while kissing his head. 

Brendan smiles at his mother, bringing her in for a hug. 

"Hey, what's going on here?" Ash smiles as she walks into the kitchen. 

"Just showing affection..." Brendan says jokingly. 

Ash chuckles as she walks over to Whitney, kissing her head as they watch Brendan walk back out to the car to carry in some more groceries. 

"I take it back..." Whit blurts out.

"Huh?" Ash wonders.

"I take it back...we did raise 'em right." 

Ash smiles towards Whitney. God was she beautiful. 

Noah, Dalton and Brendan finished bringing in the groceries and then go off to play some basketball in the driveway. Jordyn and Taylor are binge watching the Office on Netflix, Bryce is still sleeping and Jonah is practicing his piano piece. Ash is helping Whitney put the groceries away. 

Dinner is made, eaten, cleaned up and everyone is now getting ready for bed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash and Whitney pull the covers up on their bed. 

"We haven't had this in a while." Whit says.

"You mean sleeping in the same bed?" Ash asks her wife.

"Well yea...it feels like we've been separated for years." She chuckles as she sits on the side of the bed and takes her earrings out. 

"Yea, it feels so nice to finally all be back together again." Ash says kissing Whit's cheek and turning out the lamp on her side of the bed. 

"That's the other nice feeling..." Whit says while doing the same.

"What..." Ash chuckles. She's confused on what her wife means.

"Like I feel so much better knowing that all the kids are asleep in their beds, all under one roof." 

"Why you felt lonely?" Ash asks as Whitney snuggles her head into her shoulder.

"Yea I guess." 

"Well then what do you mean?" 

"Well having them all here, and you here too...it's the peace of knowing that we're all safe...and that everything's gonna be just fine." 

"Couldn't have said it better myself baby..." Ash grins down at her wife.

"I love you." Whit chuckles as she kisses her wife's cheek.

"I love you too... and I promise to always keep you safe."


	16. The Tattoo

Whitney is up bright and early this Saturday morning, cleaning and organizing for when her parents arrive this afternoon. She is awfully nervous about how things will play out when they do get here, for her mother is still a bit mad at Ashlyn for "hurting" her daughter in the previous months. 

This is also the first time that her mom and dad are meeting their new grandson--Noah. Whitney knows that her parents would never fight with Ashlyn in front of the kids, but she's so worried that they might not be able to help it. She just wants Noah's first holiday with the family to be perfect. 

"Ashlyn, can you run out to the store to get some window cleaner for me?" Whit asks her wife as they sit down at the kitchen table drinking their coffee.

"Window cleaner? Since when do we use that?"

"Since my parents are coming..." She replies sternly, meaning that it's an order and will not be further discussed. 

"Babe, you need to relax about your parents. They're not gonna do anything horrible."

"I know, it's just that you already have a tense relationship with my mom and the last few months have made it even worse. I just want everything to go perfectly for Noah." 

"Noah will enjoy Easter whether something happens or not. He already understands that no family is perfect, especially ours."

"I know...but my mom can be kinda--"

"Annoying. Selfish...hard to take?" Ashlyn adds. 

"No..." Whit answers sternly. "...relentless. She can't seem to forget things like this. Just promise me you'll try your best to be nice."

"I will if she does," Ash says as she sips her coffee.

"You know she won't..."

"Exactly." Ash winks.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a few minutes before Whit's parents arrive, and Whitney is pacing the kitchen floor.

"Would you relax?" Ash chuckles.

"Ashlyn you don't understand, this is a big deal." 

"I understand babe..." 

"I know..." Whit replies as she walks over to Ashlyn and hugs her. 

"We'll be fine, just don't let the criticism get to you. Our family is our family. No one can tell us otherwise." Ash says as she kisses her wife's head. 

"You're right...I'll keep that mentality."

Right then, the doorbell rings, and Whit freezes.

"Breath babe, breathe." Ash as she rubs the side of her wife's arms. 

Whit walks over to the front door, taking a breath before opening it.

"Whitney!" Barb Engen squeals before taking her daughter into her arms. 

"Hi, Mom..." Whit smiles.

"Hi, sweetie." Jack Engen says as he also brings his daughter in for a hug.

"Hi, Dad." Whit chuckles. 

"Hello, Ashyn." Barb simply says, clearly not wanting to hug Ash.

"Barb..." Ash nods.

"How ya doing Ash," Jacks says happily as he extends his hand out for a shake with his daughter in law. 

"Well, could be better." She softly smiles.

Whit nudges Ash's side with her elbow.

"Be nice." She says through her teeth. 

"Gramma! Grampa!" Jonah yells as he runs down the stairs.

"Oh, there's one of my many grandchildren!" Barb says excitedly. 

"Ay grampa..." Dalton says to Jack as he follows Jonah down the stairs. 

Jordyn, Taylor, and Brendan then follow their siblings by hugging and saying hello to their grandparents. Bryce even comes out and says hello, for he's cleared to walk now. 

"Now where's our grandson Noah..." Jack asks as he looks to Ash and Whitney. 

"He's upstairs fixing his hair." Taylor scoffs. Jordyn and Brendan chuckle.

Whitney and Ash chuckle too as they glance over at each other.

"I'll go check to see if he'll come down," Ash says.

~~~~~~

"Hey bud, Gramma and Grampa are here," Ash says as she walks in and leans against the door frame of Noah and Brendan's bedroom.

"Oh, okay..." Noah says as he puts his hairbrush down nervously.

"You're not meeting the president ya know," Ash chuckles.

"I know..." Noah grins. "...but Brendan told me a little about them, and it seems that you guys don't get along as much as you would like to. I just wanna make a good first impression."

Ash smiles as she hears someone coming up the stairs. It must be Whitney.

"Ya know Noah, just because your Gramma isn't exactly happy with me, doesn't mean she's not gonna love you," Ash replies as she walks closer to her son. "...plus Gramma and I do love each other, but in some cases, she doesn't think I'm the best thing for her daughter."

"Why's that?" Noah wonders.

"Well, I guess she doesn't really understand the way I think. It's different than your Mom and her, but Mom learned to love me...she doesn't put in the time to try and get to know me." 

"That's kinda sad," Noah admits. 

"Ah not really, as long as she treats you kids and your Mom alright, then I'll take any crap she gives me." 

Noah agrees with that. "...and don't let that affect the way you think of her, she's a very nice woman and an even better Gramma. She'll spoil you to death. Plus your Grampa...you're gonna love him." 

Noah smiles as he looks at his Mama.

"Ready to go meet them?" Ash asks.

The boy nods and walks out of the room, only to meet Whitney in the hallway.

"They're excited to meet you..." She smiles.

"Do you think they'll really like me?" Noah asks anxiously.

"They're gonna love you..." Whitney grins. 

Noah begins to walk down the stairs with Whitney and Ashlyn following. Whit intertwines her hand with her wife's on the way down. Ash glances over to Whit and smiles. 

Whit brings Ash closer and holds onto her arm, signaling that she's proud of their relationship and that she's right. Their family is their family, and no one can change that. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my god Jack, there he is..." Whitney can hear her mom gasp.

"Uh, hi," Noah says nervously.

"Oh, he's so handsome..." Barb says as she starts to cry. 

"Well look at you, so tall!" Jack adds unbelieved.

"Can I hug him?" Barb says hysterically as she opens her arms out to Noah. 

Noah hesitantly hugs Barb as Jack walks over and does the same.

"Oh sweetie, hi..." Barb chuckles. 

"Hi," Noah says back again.

"Oh we wanna know all about you...how 'bout we go get some ice cream? All of us..." Barb suggests.

"I'm in." Brendan quickly answers. He'd never pass up an opportunity for ice cream. 

All of the other kids agree, and they along with their two grandparents pile into the family car.

"Are you sure you two don't wanna come?" Jack asks.

"Nah thanks, Dad, we have some last minute things to do here." 

"Okay, see in about an hour."

~~~~~

Whitney walks back into the house from the garage and sees Ashlyn shirtless in the kitchen.

"Wow, it took less than five minutes for that to happen." Whit chuckles. 

"Yea, yea..." Ash says as she rolls her eyes. "...I wanted to show you something." 

"Did that weird mole come back again?" Whit sighs as she walks over to her wife. 

"No..." Ashlyn chuckles. "...I got a tattoo." 

"Oh," Whit says surprised. She loves Ashlyn's tattoos because they mean so much to her, and honestly, they're so sexy...but she isn't a fan of Ash wrapping her whole body in ink.

"Do you wanna see it?" 

"Yea...where is it?"

Ashlyn grins at her wife as she turns her torso to show her left hip. Whitney gasps as she puts her hand over her mouth. 

"Baby...I love it." 

"Yea, I got the artist to do it the other day...that's why I took that Advil before bed."

Whitney examines the tattoo on her wife's skin. It is the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.

A couple of years ago, Ashlyn got the kid's names tattooed on the side of her rib cage. Dalton, Brendan, Jordyn, Taylor, Jonah, and Bryce. But now, with their new addition to the family, Ashlyn had the tattoo artist add Noah's name to the bottom.

"Our family is our family, and no one can change that...it's literally permanent on my body." 

Whitney looks up at Ashlyn and smiles.

"I love you," Whit says as she brings her wife in and wraps her arms around Ash's neck.

"I love you..." Ash replies as she rests her hands on Whit's waist.

"And what you said to Noah before was super sweet..." Whit adds as she runs her hand through Ash's short brown hair. "...I never knew you felt that way about my mom." 

"Well, the one thing you don't get to choose is in-laws...I'll work with what I get." 

Whitney chuckles as she kisses Ashlyn's lips.

"Can you help me make the bed in the guest bedroom?" Whit adds as they break.

"Sure." Ash grins as she takes Whitney's hand into hers, fiddling with her wedding ring.

"Kay, let's go..."

~~~~~~~

That night, everyone settled into their beds, eager for what is going to happen tomorrow on Easter morning.

Barb never said anything to Ashlyn about all the drama, which calmed Whit down a bit. But who knows, the holiday isn't over yet.

Whit fell asleep in Aslyn's arms earlier in the night, and Ash lied awake thinking about how blessed she is. 7 beautiful and healthy children, a nurturing and beyond sexy wife, a house that was turned into a home, and love that can be felt for miles. This is what she is living for. She couldn't have asked for more.


	17. Easter Sunday

It's 10 am this fine Sunday morning in the Harris household, and people are up, hustling and bustling. 

"I didn't think Easter was such a big deal..." Noah says in awe as he watches the millions of people rush around trying to find their coats and shoes.

"Wait until you see Christmas," Jordyn chuckles to her brother.

~~~~~

Everyone eventually got out the door, and they made the church service with 5 minutes to spare. 

All the kids were very well-behaved during the service, with an occasional yawn here and there. It was actually Noah's first time to church, and Whitney believes he enjoyed it very much.

Someone who may have not enjoyed it so much though, is her wife. Ashlyn never really attended weekly service when she was a kid, so the practice was never instilled in her. 

Ashlyn started going to church with Whitney after their first year of dating. She was and still is, very nervous to attend because of her sexuality. Ash is normally very strong and inspiring when it comes to being apart of the LGBTQ+ community, but church is the one place she feels insecure. She won't even hold Whitney's hand. 

Ash is very tentatively sitting in the pew, not even looking over at Whitney. The last thing Whit would want to do is make her wife uncomfortable, but she really wanted to hold her hand. 

Church eventually ends, and everyone ushers out to their cars. Immediately after Whit and Ashlyn step out of the church doors, Ashlyn interlocks her fingers with her wife's. 

Whitney looks over at Ash reassuringly, giving a tight squeeze of affection towards their jumbled mess of fingers, wondering why she didn't try doing it while they were inside.

"You okay baby?" Whitney asks.

"Doin' just fine..." Ash replies smoothly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

The whole family eventually arrived home and had a wonderful Easter morning breakfast, followed by an egg hunt of course. 

By the time that dinner was finished and all the kids were in the basement watching a movie, all hell started to break loose. 

Bryce and Jonah came up a few minutes ago to ask Ashlyn to help with the movie. These 21st-century kids...they don't know how to use a DVD player!! 

"A DVD player is the simplest thing, I don't know why your 7 children don't know how to work one..." Barb says. 

Whitney looks over at her mother, unsure of whether she was joking or not.

"Barb it's perfectly fine that they don't, they are much more technologically advanced things that they know all about and you don't," Jack adds. That makes Whit feel better.

Then, all of the sudden, Barb begins to rag on Ashlyn again.

"All I'm saying is maybe you and Ashlyn should look into counseling. She put you through a lot these past few months." 

"She put me through a lot? Or you..." Whit replies sternly, obviously hurt. 

Barb stands there speechless. 

"Whitney, you're my daughter. I mean a few months ago you were crying to me saying you wanted a divorce, and know everything is just perfect again? I know Ashlyn sweetheart, she could stab you in the back at any time. 

"No. You don't know Ashlyn. For the past 17 years that we've been married not once have you tried to make conversation with her. She wants to have a relationship with you Mom, but you can't seem to let her in for Lord knows why..." 

"Oh, I don't know her? Well, she isn't too hard to figure out. Tattoos all over her body, she shaved her head, her previous life and morals were extremely upsetting, her dad is a wackado and her mother is too! And that brother of hers, ughh."

Whitney sighs slowly, trying to calm her anger and engagement. 

"Get out..." 

"What?" Barb asks.

"Get out...now."

"Whitney I am not going to leave."

"Why not? Because you're in my house Mom, and you can't seem to respect me and my family. Ashlyn is who she is, and I love her endlessly for it. Stop trying to change that...we are never going to not be together. It's Noah's first holiday with us and I wanted it to be memorable...but this is not the kind of memory I want to have. We raise our kids the way we raise our kids...they have all been through so much and they don't need this negativity and anger around a place that is normally filled with love and laughter. Please, I think you should go." 

Barb stands there for a few seconds more, looking down at the ground, to her daughter, and then to Jack. 

"Well, then I will. I wouldn't want to add to the already hostile environment. I'm sorry for trying to help." She says as she walks away and up the stairs to gather her things.

Jack looks over to Whitney.

"You and I both know that she is the one is creating the hostile environment." 

Whit gives off a bit of a smirk, satisfied that her point got across to her father. 

Jack comes over and kisses his daughter's head."...I'm sorry things had to end up this way. I hope you and Noah can forgive us." 

"It's no problem for Noah Dad, he knows nothing about it...I just hope I didn't totally wreck my relationship with Mom." 

"Oh sweetie you didn't. You know your Mom, causing a fight and then running back a few days later saying it was all her fault. I promise everything will be fine, just let things run its course."

"I'm sorry you have to leave too." 

"Oh, it's no problem Whit. We'll get a hotel room and take our regular flight tomorrow morning." 

"Jack..." A voice says from the front door. It must be Barb.

"Well I'll see ya later honey, maybe we'll come in for a few days in the summer." 

"Looking forward to it. Have a safe flight home." 

"Will do. Tell the kids and Ashlyn I say goodbye." 

They hug.

"Bye, love you..." 

"Bye Dad. Love you too." 

~~~~~~~~

The front door closes and Whitney can hear her parent's rental car start and pull away.

Just then, Ash comes into the kitchen slowly. 

"You okay?" 

"Yea...I'm fine." Whit simply answers.

Ashlyn walks up to her wife and leans next to her on the counter.

"Could you hear the yelling from the basement?" 

"No, I came upstairs when you two first started. I waited in the living room for things to cool down," 

Whitney sighs and puts her head in her hands. Ash rests her hand on the small of her wife's back.

"It seems that you didn't hold back though..." 

"Why shouldn't I have held back? She was being totally absurd. I couldn't take it anymore." 

"You know all those things she said about me don't bother me right? She's said them too many times. They've just lost their meaning,"

Whitney looks up at Ashlyn. "And why should you have to deal with that. They're supposed to be your family, and families don't stab each other in the backs..." 

Ashlyn looks at Whit. 

"Right..." Whit quickly corrects. "...sorry." She apologizes. It totally slipped her mind that Ashlyn's father left her mother and indeed stabbed her in the back.

"I just wanted to show you and the kids the love that families should truly share,"

"Baby what do you think you've shown me for the past 17 years? You're the one who taught me how to love...and these kids, they don't need to see the love between you and your parents. They just need to see it right here, between us. Which they do! You sacrifice so much for them to have the best possible lives after their horrible pasts...If that isn't love, then I don't know what is." 

Whitney smiles as she looks into her wife's eyes. 

"You really think we're doing a good job?" 

"I know we are...and no one can tell us otherwise." 

Whit grins as she wraps her arms around Ashlyn's neck, kissing her lips. 

"I liked that," Ash whispers onto her lover's lips.

Whitney grins. "...me too. I love you."

"I love you..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kid's movie eventually ended, and after asking where their grandparents were, Whit and Ash explained to them there was a bit of an emergency with their Grandpa Jack's job in California and that they would have to the next flight out immediately. Whitney didn't like to lie to her children, but it was the best thing for them. 

After they are all snuggled in their beds and fall fast asleep, Whit and Ash stay up together in their bedroom. 

"Okay, I have one question for you," Whit says as she looks over to Ashlyn in their bed.

"Shoot," Ash says as she looks up from reading her emails. 

"Why don't you hold my hand in church." 

"Huh?" Ash asks confused.

"You heard me. Why don't you like to hold my hand in church? You held it right before and after, but when we're inside it's like you're scared straight." 

"Whitney, that's not true." 

"Then why?" 

"I just feel...uncomfortable." 

"But baby church is the one place you should feel contented with yourself 100%..."

"I know, I was just paying attention. I'm sorry if I offended you."

"You didn't..." Whit says as she reaches for Ash's hand. "...I was just wondering." 

Ash grins and kisses Whitney's hand.

"Lights off?" Whit adds.

"Yea...it's been a long day, you deserve some rest. Are you sure you're okay with everything about your parents?"

"Yea it's alright...she'll come around. Plus, it's not like I regret anything I said. I meant it all." 

"I'm happy for you babe. You finally told her how you felt." 

Whit grins as she snuggles herself up into her wife. Ashlyn leans over and turns out the light.

"We're having your mom for Thanksgiving," Whit says in the dark.

Ash chuckles, kissing Whitney on the head. Who knows what these months will bring. But as long as Whitney is by her side, she is grateful and ready for it all.


	18. After A While...

For the next week, Whitney waited for a call from her mother. But it never came. Yes, she was still a bit mad, but she couldn't help but feel excited whenever the phone rang just in case it was Barb. Quite honestly, she missed her mom.

"Why don't you call her babe?" Ash says as she sips her coffee that Tuesday morning. 

"I can't. It would almost be like apologizing. I don't regret anything I said. I don't want to give up the fight." 

"But you don't want to fight, so why not just give up?" Ashlyn wonders.

"Because that would be like proving her right. All of her opinions are completely wrong and she needs to understand that they are not ones welcomed in our home." 

"Give it a few more days, I'm sure she'll come around." 

*7 months later* 

Well, it's been a long time since we caught up with the Harris family. It's been all good things.

Noah is finally settled into the family, perfectly comfortable with everyone. He began playing football for his school in the fall and just finished his first season, earning MVP. 

He along with Brendan, Jordyn and Taylor are now in the 10th grade, with Dalton in 11th, Jonah in 7th and Bryce in 6th. 

Whitney and Ashlyn's marriage couldn't be stronger, but it's November and they still didn't renew their vows. But as much as they want to have the ceremony, there's no rush. 

Bryce and Taylor have both successfully recovered from their injuries, Taylor with her ACL and Bryce with his appendix. Jordyn is going into her second term as Vice President of her class and Brendan is, well just Brendan! Loving life and living it to the fullest. 

It's a lot of firsts lately in the Harris household this upcoming year. Dalton's 17th birthday was a while ago and he is the first in the family to get his driver's license. And there's a whole bunch of 16th birthdays after that, meaning learner's permits and more driving. Whitney's a wreck, Ashlyn thinks it's hilarious. 

It's been 7 months since Whitney last spoke to her mom, and it has been taking quite a toll on her. Anything that happened in the kid's lives, if they scored a goal in their game or got a good grade on a test or even said something funny, Whitney would just shoot her mom a text. But she can't exactly do that anymore. It's not the same with her dad. 

"Babe, I don't wanna rush you into anything, but Thanksgiving is in 3 days and we still don't know if your parents are coming," Ashlyn says from the couple's bed as she watches her wife brush her hair and put her mascara on. 

"I know...I'm just hoping they show up without telling us," Whitney replies as she continues to focus on what she is doing. 

"Yea, they would totally take a flight across the country not even knowing if they're welcome. Just ask them Whitney. If they say no, they say no." 

"I can't...maybe I'll have the courage by Christmas." 

"But Whit, if your parents don't come and my mom doesn't come, then it will just be us for Thanksgiving." 

"What's so wrong with that?" Whitney scoffs as she looks back at Ashlyn.

"Well, we don't know how to cook Thanksgiving dinner...there's no way we can prepare in 3 days."

"Why not? This is the perfect time to learn," 

"But..." Ashlyn replies.

"But what babe? We have enough mouths to feed already...this could be fun." 

"But your parents always come..." Ash begins to whine.

"Then why don't you ask them."

Ashlyn sighs, she really didn't want to, but she felt she had to.

Ashlyn steps out of the room to call Whitney's dad, Jack. No way was she calling her mom.

*ring*

"Hello?"

"Hey Jack, it's Ashlyn." 

"Ash! So nice to hear from you, how are my wonderful grandkids doing?" 

"Oh, they're good. Dalton got his driver's license, so he's been pretty stoked about that." 

"Woah his license! Feels like just yesterday I had him riding on my shoulders." 

"Yep, he's no baby anymore." 

"And Whitney?" 

"Oh, she's good...um, about that Jack,"

"Yea?" 

"Well I...uh, Whit and I were wondering if...well this may be last minute but, we were wondering if you guys were flying out for Thanksgiving." 

"Oh..." Jack answers. You can tell he is trying to find the right words to say. 

"Well, this year..." He continues. "...This year Barb made plans for us to go to her sister's house in Oakland. I'm sorry we should have told you. Does it mess up your plans?" 

"Oh no um, we were just trying to get a head count." 

"Okay, well that's our statice...is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?" 

"Uh, yea actually..." Ash pauses. Should she ask Jack about "the problem"?

 

"Go on," He says. Ashlyn's pause was a bit long.

"Do you...do you think Whit and Barb will ever talk to each other again?" 

Ash can hear Jack sigh a bit.

"Well, I don't know. I thought it would be a few days only that they would fight...it's been 7 whole months. I have never seen them do anything like this before. I just don't know what else to do." 

"Yea...I've been trying to get Whitney to call or something, but she's stubborn and doesn't want to make the first move." 

"She's exactly like her mother..." Jack chuckles. "...and then she keeps me from seeing you guys. There are only a few months that a grandpa can stay away from his grandkids before he goes crazy."

"I'm sorry it's affected you like that..." Ash admits. She never thought about how Jack felt about this whole thing.

"Well, it's only me and Barb here and Whitney's our only child. There's only so much golf you can play and TV you can watch. There's always something exciting to hear about from you guys." 

"I'm sorry you've been cut off from that. It's not fair to you, I promise to update you when something happens."

"I'd like that very much. Thank you, Ashlyn." 

"My pleasure..." Ash replies satisfied. "...Well, I gotta get going. Whit's watching a YouTube video on how to cook a turkey. I think I better pay attention." 

Ash hears Jack chuckle. "You better...Give everyone hugs and kisses for me."

"Will do. Bye Jack."

"Bye..and thank you again."

"No problem, Happy Thanksgiving." 

"Happy Thanksgiving." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey..." Whit says to Ash as she walks into the kitchen. "...you were out there a long time, did someone pick up?" 

"Oh, yea..." Ash says as she walks over to her wife and wraps an arm around her waist. "...it was your dad. They're going to your aunt's for Thanksgiving so they can't make it." 

"That's fine. The less the merrier." 

"Whitney..." Ash says. 

"What?" Whit asks innocently.

"You have such a negative outlook on this. Do you even realize how your dad is being affected by all this?" 

"No...is he okay?" Whit answers as she looks up at her wife.

"Well, he's bored. He told me there's only so much golf to play, some much TV to watch...he misses these kids." 

Whitney thinks for a moment and then sighs. "I never even thought about that." 

"Babe..." Ash says as she takes Whit's hand in hers. "...you and your mom may have some differences right now, but you can't take them away from the kids. Noah never even had time to develop a relationship with them. He probably thinks they're monsters." 

Whitney puts her head in her hands. "I'm a horrible mother." 

"No you're not Whit, you're just human."

"No. I yelled at my mom and cut the kids off from them. My dad didn't even do anything wrong, he doesn't deserve this. I can't believe I let it go this long. What kind of example am I setting? What kind of daughter I am to let my parents go totally off my radar? How on earth is Noah going to seem them as good people after this? How are we--" 

Ash couldn't take it anymore. She cut Whitney off by pulling her in and kissing her lips. 

When they break, Ash rests her forehead against her wife's. 

"Everything is going to be fine. Just take a deep breath. We can work this out later, but for now, let's enjoy our Thanksgiving. It's Noah's first after all..." 

Whitney grins and looks into Ashlyn's eyes. "You're right. I'll calm down." 

"Good...how's that turkey coming?" 

"Well I've been taking notes and it still doesn't make any sense. But you are the culinary genius in the family..." Whitney flirts as she tugs on the neckline of Ashlyn's black t-shirt. 

"Well, I can take a look. But no promises that it will taste good."

Whitney chuckles and kisses Ashlyn's lips once again. Everything is finally falling back into place.


	19. Thanksgiving Day

Whitney and Ashlyn get up bright and early to start the Thanksgiving dinner preparations. 

"Okay so, stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, green beans, then sweet potatoes?" Ash says while rattling off all the stuff they need to do. 

"Why stuffing first?" Whit asks. 

"Well, you cook the stuffing in the turkey."

"Really?" Whit says.

"Yea babe, that's why they call it stuffing...you stuff it in the the turkey." Ash chuckles.

"Just shows how inexperienced I am." Whitney chuckles back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*10 hours later at 5 o'clock* 

"You guys, dinner's ready," Whit says to her 7 children as she walks into the living room.

"Sweet, let's eat!" Dalton says as he gets up from his spot on the couch.

Whitney smiles as she looks at her oldest and then the rest of her children. God, is she blessed. Blessed for their beautiful, talented souls, everlasting love and the fact that they all get along so well together. For hours they were sitting in the living room watching football, cracking jokes and making fun of the TV announcers. These were the most amazing memories that Whit dreamed they would make. 

All 7 of them come into the kitchen and eventually get seated. 

Ash sits down at the head of the table and Whitney sits right next to her in the seat to her right. 

Right as the boys were about to attack the food, Jordyn says, "Wait..." Everyone looks at her. "...we have to say what we're thankful for. It's tradition." 

Whitney grins and looks over at Ashlyn.

"You start Mama," Jonah says. 

Ash looks over at her son. "Okay, well...I am thankful that we are all healthy, happy, living here together where we can create memories, explore our talents and help each other become better people." 

Whitney, along with the kids, smiles at Ashlyn as Whit puts her hand on her wife's leg under the table.

"Jonah?" Whit says.

"Um okay. I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters, my friends, Mom and Mama and for ice cream." 

Everyone at the table laughs. One ofJonah's most favorite things in the whole entire world is ice cream. 

Brendan is next.

"I'm thankful for friends, family, the Patriots and Jesus, in no particular order..." 

Everyone chuckles again, he is honestly so sweet. 

Brendan smiles and looks to Taylor, who is sitting next to him.

"I'm thankful that I'm good and healthy and able to play soccer again, for my friends and teachers, and for everyone sitting at this table."

All of the big buys give a big comedic awe.

Jordyn begins, "I'm thankful that I have been continuing to do the things I love with the people I love the most."

Bryce's turn.

"I'm thankful for Mama and Mom, my baseball buddies, my classmates, Grandma and Grandpa, my siblings, Gramma Tammy, and video games." 

Everyone looks at Noah. He clears his throat, a bit nervous.

"I'm grateful that I get to share what I'm grateful for this year. If that makes sense uh...this is my first year in my whole life where I am surrounded by people who truly love me for who I am. This time last year I was alone all by myself, wondering if I would ever make it out of there..."

Whitney begins to tear up. He continues "...I guess I'm grateful that I get to call you guys my family for the rest of my life. And I'm grateful for the opportunities you've given me, and the memories so far and to come...so yeah." 

Whitney puts her arm around Noah and pulls him in for a kiss on the head.

"Your turn Mom." Noah grins to Whit.

She thinks for a moment, looking out to the sea of people looking at her, and then to Ashlyn.

"I'm thankful that I have been blessed with the best possible family any person could be given. I never thought that my life would end up this way, but I'm so happy it did." 

Ash grins towards her wife. 

"That's nice Mom, and I really loved how we all feel the love, but can we eat already? It's getting cold," Brendan says.

He earns a chuckle from the group. 

"One more thing..." Ash answers. The kids look her direction and see that their Mama took her phone out. "...we need a picture to capture the memory." 

Whitney chuckles as Ashlyn raises her arm to take a selfie. They all smile and look at the camera. Ash takes about three photos and puts her arm down.

"Go ahead." She announces.

The boys smile as they stretch out their arms to grab any dish they can lay their hands on. Whit watches with love. 

Ash puts her phone down after a second and leans over and kisses Whitney's cheek.

"Our family is our family..." She begins.

"And nothing can change that," Whitney ends.

They kiss once more.

~~~~~~~~

*ding* 

"You got a text Jack..." 

"Oh, I wonder from who?" 

Grandpa Jack puts her glasses on and unlocks his phone. He smiles.

It's the selfie Ashlyn took.

It reads: 

Happy Thanksgiving Grandma and Grandpa! Hope all is well and to see you guys soon. 

Love, Ash, Whit, Dalton, Brendan, Jordyn, Taylor, Jonah, Bryce + Noah


	20. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's bright and early this fine December morning in the Harris household, and for once it what seems like forever, no activities are scheduled, meaning the kids can sleep in.

"At least they get to catch up on their rest. It seems like it's been nonstop around here since before Thanksgiving." Whit says as she hands Ashlyn her morning cup of coffee.

"And why don't we? We've been working twice as hard as them." Ashlyn chuckles back.

"Well, parenting never stops." Whit smiles as she runs her hands through her wife's short brown hair.

"And why not?" Ash flirts.

"Well, we have 7 mouths to feed, keep clean, take care of, educations to pay for...need I go on?"

"Nah I'm good," Ash replies as she scrunches up her nose and takes a sip of her coffee.

Whitney chuckles as she brings her wife close and kisses her head.

"So what's on deck for today?" Ash then asks.

"Well, as soon as the troop wakes up we can make breakfast...and I think then they're all counting on us drawing names for Secret Santa." 

"Secret Santa...already?" 

"Yea babe. It's already December 15, full steam ahead until Christmas. Speaking off, we need to start shopping. One more kid this year and your family's coming. We're gonna have a full house."

"Why can't we just have some peace and quiet for once..." Ash says sincerely as she looks into her lover's eyes.

"I know...things have been crazy lately. I promise that in the New Year things will start to settle down."

"I just wanna get married." Ash pouts.

"What is with you and that?" Whit chuckles.

"What..."

"Honey we are married. We've been married for almost 20 years."

"I know, but I still wanna do it."

"Well we can wait until our 20th for that, I don't know how we're gonna find the time."

"Exactly..." Ash answers softly.

"Huh?" Whit asks.

"Exactly...I mean I love where we're at with the kids and everything, but it feels like you and I are drifting apart."

"That's no true Ash."

"Oh really...when's the last time we had sex."

"Ashlyn..." Whitney chuckles.

"I'm serious Whit, when was the last time?"

"I don't know..." Whit sighs.

"Exactly my point. Let's not forget why we love each other in the first place Whit."

"But Ash, we don't need a ceremony for that."

"Well, we need something...fast,"

"I promise we'll get some alone time. I'll arrange something." Whit says as she runs her fingers in Ash's hair once again.

"I'm losing you Whit."

"You'll never lose me." Whitney quickly answers as she brings her wife in for a much-needed hug.

"...you'll never, ever lose me." She repeats.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's about 11:30 am now and all of the kids just finished breakfast after stumbling out of bed at around 10.

Jordyn comes down the stairs a bit mad. She's wrapped in a towel with her hair dripping wet. Brendan whistles as Whit looks at him sternly, warning him to stop.

"Something wrong Jordy?" Ash asks.

"Yea something's wrong. I don't get why that in this house, with so many people, the person who cares the most about their physical appearance gets put last in the shower order so that she can wash in freezing cold water."

"Sorry Jordy, maybe one of the boys will switch with you."

"No way." Brendan scoffs.

Whit glares at him again.

"You can switch with me sis, I don't mind going dirty," Dalton answers.

Jordyn grins at Dalton satisfied.

"That's sweet Dalton, but you should care whether you go to school dirty or not," Whit adds.

"Why? My musk attracts the ladies..." Dalton says smoothly.

"Yea right, you smell like a dumpster." Taylor chuckles.

"Well, I'm sorry for trying to do something nice for my sister. I'll gladly take back my request if everyone thinks it's such a bad idea." Dalton jokes. "...what do you think Jordyn?"

She thinks for a moment. "...you smell fine,"

Dalton smiles widely in satisfaction.

"Well, I'm glad that's settled. Could you go get dressed Jordyn? We're about to draw names."

Jordyn nods and goes upstairs to get her clothes.

"What's drawing names?" Noah asks.

"Every year, each kid picks a name out of a hat so they know which sibling to buy a present for. We exchange on Christmas Eve." Taylor answers.

"Oh, cool..." Noah says as he puts his head down a bit.

"Okay, let's go. Everyone in the living room." Ash says as Jordyn comes down the stairs.

6 of them follow their Mama into the living room, while Noah is a little slow to get up.

"You okay?" Whitney asks.

"Ah yea...still waking up," He chuckles.

"You've had more than enough time to wake up. Something bothering you?" '

"Uh...it's stupid, never mind," Noah answers as he gets up from his chair and walks toward the swinging kitchen door.

Whit stops him.

"Nothing that bothers you is stupid. Just tell me..."

Noah turns to face his mother.

"It's just...I've never bought a present for someone before. I've never done any of this Christmas stuff before. I don't wanna mess it up and ruin everyone's holiday."

"Oh, sweetie that won't happen. Christmas is a time where you appreciate every gift you receive, even if it's not your style. As long as you think long and hard and put your heart into buying or making it, the person receiving will see that and they will value it so much more. And you can always ask me or Mama. About anything, even if it doesn't relate to Christmas..."

"Right. Thanks,"

Whitney rubs Noah's back a bit before she leads him into the living room where the rest of the family is waiting for them.

"Everything okay?" Ash asks sweetly.

"Yep, everything's good." Whit smiles as she sits down next to her wife on the couch.

"Can I go first?" Bryce asks excitedly.

"Sure." Ash approves as she holds out the bucket for her son.

Bryce sticks his hand in and takes out a paper.

"Dalton." He reads.

"I thought it was supposed to be a secret?" Noah asks.

Jordyn chuckles. "Those were the rules, but someone always let the secret slip. So now we just tell each other from the start."

"It's really a 'not so Secret Santa.'" Brendan adds.

"Or just 'Santa'" Dalton laughs. He earns a chuckle from the group.

"Who's next?" Whit asks.

"I'll go..." Taylor volunteers as she gets up from her spot on the couch.

Taylor moves her hand around the bucket, hoping to get someone easy. When she chooses one, she takes it and reads it aloud.

"Brendan..." Taylor mischievously chuckles. Those two are always at each other's necks with jokes and pranks.

Now it's Jordyn's turn. She does the same routine as her sister.

"Noah," she says.

Noah grins up at her, Jordyn returns the action.

Dalton's turn.

"Jonah." He chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Jonah asks a bit hurt.

"Nothing bro, I'm just happy I didn't get one of the girls."

Jonah smiles it off as he reaches for a folded paper.

"Bryce," He says satisfied.

There's a pause.

"You go now, Noah," Bryce says.

"Oh um...okay."

Noah reaches his hand down into the blue bucket held out by Ashlyn.

He opens it and reads it to himself first. "Taylor."

"So then that means I have Jordyn right?" Brendan adds.

Whitney nods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After a long day of lounging around and a trip to the pizza parlor, the whole family is tucked into their beds, ready to sleep.

"What was going on with you and Noah in the kitchen earlier today?" Ashlyn asks as she flips a page of her magazine.

"Oh, he was just expressing some concerns..." Whit replies as she places her earrings and wedding ring in a box she received from her mother on her wedding day.

"Concerns?" Ash says surprised as she lifts her head up. "...You weren't gonna mention it to me? I thought we agreed to be on the same page about things with the kids..."

Whitney turns and grins at her wife, who is getting a bit heated. She walks over to the bed where Ash is and folds back the sheets and blanket on her side.

"He was worried he'd ruin Christmas because he's never bought a present for anyone before."

Ashlyn scoffs. "Some worry..." She says, the immediate fear rushing out of her body.

"I think it's absolutely adorable. It shows he really cares."

"I guess..." Ash says.

"Something wrong babe..."

Ashlyn takes a deep breath.

"You wanna be a good example to our kids right?"

"Of course." Whit answers.

Ashlyn is silent for a moment, just thinking her words through.

"...you've...we've been showing Noah what family love is truly about right?"

"Yea..." Whitney answers, confused about where her wife is taking this conversation.

"Well then call your mother, cause the kids know something is up and expect your parents to be here Christmas morning and I will not be the one who has the heart to tell them that they're being totally cut off from their grandparents over a conflicting opinion."

"Ashlyn, it's a difficult subject..."

"Difficult? Maybe difficult for you. Be the bigger person Whitney. Your dad told me all about how their lives are so boring because they don't get to hear about their grandkids."

"I didn't say I'd never do it, Ashlyn. It will happen eventually. Now's not a good time..."

"Really? Because I think now is the perfect time. Call them tomorrow Whit, they're your mom and dad. How can we truly show Noah and the rest of the kids how to treat their parents if you don't even know how to treat yours."

Whitney takes in what Ashlyn said.

"You're right..."

Ashlyn grins as she reaches over and takes Whitney's hand in hers.

"I'll call them tomorrow."

"That's my girl." Ashlyn smiles. She leans over and kisses Whit's soft lips.

"I hope it's worth it..." Whit says quietly onto Ash's lips.

"It will be, I promise."


	21. The Season Of Giving

It is now Sunday morning, December 16th, a lovely a cold, brisk day in the state of Maryland. Whitney and Ashlyn didn't particularly love the winter in Maryland, due to the circumstances they grew up in, California and Florida. But the kids absolutely love when it snows, and that is probably the only reason the family decided to stay in the Northeast. It's honestly the simplest things in life that can mean more than words to someone, especially a kid. 

Whitney seriously thought about what Ashlyn said to her yesterday morning. About how she feels that they don't get to spend any time together anymore. There is no way that they could have a romantic evening at home, because there are kids absolutely everywhere, going in and out at all times. 

Whit couldn't ask Ash's mom Tammy to come in any earlier, because she already has her flight booked for the 21st. And she hasn't exactly made up with her mom yet, which is on her list to do today. There is one option that happened to pop out of nowhere though. The couple's good friends, Heather O'Reilly and Ali Krieger will be passing through Maryland on their way to New Jersey to spend Christmas with Heather's family. 

"Are you sure Heather? There's 7 of them..." Whit chuckles while on the phone with her retired teammate. 

"Oh yea, it will give Al and I some practice for when we decide to have some of our own." 

"How's everything going with that? Haven't heard about it in a while." Whitney asks.

"Well slower than we thought. Honestly, I thought that we'd be to Uganda and back before Christmas. But it looks like we'll be adopting them around March." 

"Sometimes patience is a virtue. It's worth the wait though, we've done it 7 times."

Whit can hear HAO chuckle.

"Yea, I guess we should value our last Christmas without kids." 

"You should...make it memorable. I remember the last year Ash and I celebrated Chrismas as a couple. It was really romantic. Two months later we brought home Dalton, and everything changed. A positive change of course." 

"I'm sure...I'm honestly so excited. But nervous too. I mean they're 5, 11 and 13. I don't know how to parent teenagers." 

"That's exactly why coming here will give you guys practice..." Whit laughs. "...we have 5 teenagers." 

"God bless you Whit, seriously." 

"Yea it's hard sometimes, but seriously so rewarding. Seeing them grow up and bond, learn and find out who they are...there's nothing I'd rather do...See you tomorrow?" 

"Yep...see you tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash comes into Whit's office a few minutes after she got off the phone. 

"Guess what..." Whit grins.

"What?" Ashlyn chuckles.

"I figured out how we could have some alone time." 

"Really...how?" Ash asks continued as she sits down at the chair across from her wife's. 

"Well Ali and Heather are spending Christmas in New Jersey, so there stopping by the house tomorrow night so that we can go out." 

"Really...who suggested that idea?" 

"Well I really brought it up, but they both were thinking of stopping somewhere to sleep overnight and plus, they want to meet Noah." 

"Cool, so tomorrow night..." 

"Be ready baby." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, all of the kids are desperately trying to think of good deeds and a present that they can give to their "not so Secret Santa". Along with buying or making a gift, each kid has to do something nice for their chosen sibling every day until Christmas Eve. Whether it's helping them with homework, throwing the football back and forth, playing video games or a board game, or maybe even taking them out to do something fun one on one. 

Of course, the only kid on top of their holiday duties and responsibilities is Jordyn. 

Jordyn sits across the counter from Noah.

"What's up?" He says as he looks up from his math homework.

"I'm going to teach you all you need to know about Christmas in our house..." 

"Huh?" He asks confused.

"Well, I guess this could sorta be my good deed, but I enjoy doing it..." Jordyn explains as she opens her laptop. "...You've never celebrated Christmas before so we have to get you prepared."

"Prepared?" Noah says. This is more than he bargained for.

"Yea. I mean you haven't seen one Christmas movie, sung one full Christmas carol, made a snowman, had a snowball fight, buy and receive presents, make cookies from scratch, decorate the tree..." 

"That's a lot of stuff," Noah says.

"Yep, and we have 9 days to do it all." 

"Do you think that's enough time?" Noah gasps jokingly.

"Nice try smart alec. I just want you to feel the spirit of Christmas with the family, that's all. I could take it all back right now and you'd be on your own....your choice."

Noah thinks about his ultimatum. "Fine...what's the first thing on the list?" 

"Well, I think it should all come naturally, you know organic. I don't want to force anything, then it won't feel authentic."

"Okay, well then what should I keep my eyes open for," Noah asks.

"Well on Wednesday night we're all going to the Christmas tree farm to pick this years tree, then we'll come back and decorate it."

"That sounds nice."

"Yea it is. Plus everyone is doing their own things to feel the spirit of the season." 

"Like what?" 

"Well, Jonah and Bryce are going to be in their school's Christmas play. Jonah's a wisemen and Bryce is a shepherd...Dalton is volunteering at some soup kitchen with the basketball team, and Taylor is selling popcorn tins for PDA and they're also going to the soup kitchen. I have to bake 5 batches of brownies for the student government holiday bake sale and I have to help run the Toys for Tots night at school on Thursday...."

"What's Brendan doing?" Noah wonders. 

"Well, he's made it very clear that since he's on varsity wrestling this year, that he has to put all his focus into that. But Mom made him find something to do. So he got a job at the local tree farm, chopping and wrapping the trees, putting them on people's cars. He'll get some good tips. Plus he's already started planning for the neighborhood association's holiday yard contest on Christmas day."

"What's that?"

"Every year, judges come around and look at people's Christmas decorations in their yards. They give out prizes. The first place winner gets 250 dollars."

Noah's eyes widen.

"I see you've found your calling. Go talk to Brendan about it, I'm sure that he could use your help. And we could always use more volunteers for the Toys for Tots night..." Jordyn says as she closes her laptop. 

Noah grins to her. 

"Thanks for helping me out. You don't have to waste your time though, like you said, you're really busy." 

"Christmas is about spreading love and happiness. I'm glad to do it. Plus, I always make time for family."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After finishing up his math homework, Noah goes to look for Brendan. He finds him in the garage.

"We need more decorations..." Brendan sighs.

"It looks like we've got a lot to me." Noah chuckles as he walks down the stairs.

"Well, it's not enough. The neighbors outside just put up two giant inflatables..." Brendan answers as he rummages through the boxes sprawled all over the floor.

"How can I help?"

"I don't know...we don't have much income this year to up our game..." Brendan says as he stands upright. "...I know." He says as he walks over to his brother. 

"What?" 

"How 'bout you draw a plan for the house. You know, like a sketch. We'll show it to Mom and Mama, they'll be blown away and will give us all the money we want."

"That sounds wrong." 

"Wrong? Bro, it's 250 dollars!"

"I know but, that's not what Christmas is about. Let's try to make do with what we have." 

Brendan backs up and thinks for a moment. "I guess you're right...it's about the experience, not the outcome."

"Exactly." Noah smiles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Babe, where are Heather and Ali gonna sleep? The painters are coming to paint the guest room tomorrow remember? It will never be down in time." Ash asks as she chops some carrots for dinner.

"They can sleep in our room," Whit answers as she stirs something in a pot on the stove. 

"Then where are we gonna sleep?" Ash asks confused.

"In a hotel...after we have romantic dinner tomorrow night."

Ash grins and walks over to her wife, wrapping her arms around her from behind.

"What should I wear?" Ash whispers into Whit's ear.

"How 'bout nothing..." Whit grins as she turns herself to face Ashlyn. 

Ash makes an intrigued face. "...I like that." She says moves closer to her wife's lips.

"Oh do you..." Whitney chuckles as Ashlyn's lips connect with hers.

"Get a room..." They hear a voice say. Ash turns around and sees that it is Brendan.

"Well we own this house...run along." Ash winks.

Whitney chuckles as Ashlyn attacks her neck with kisses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dude, I swear sometimes they're so gross." Brendan chuckles as he comes into their room and jumps on his bed.

"Why? They're in love. They're supposed to do that." Noah says as she sits down in his desk chair and swivels it around. 

"I guess so...I'm glad that they're showing PDA rather than fighting...." 

Noah looks at Brendan.

"Fighting?" He asks. His face looks as if he just heard the most earth-shattering news. 

"Yea..." Brendan answers as he sits up.

Noah looks at Brendan, looking for a further explanation.

Brendan sighs. "...a few months before you came to us, Mom and Mama had a bit of a falling out. But they're okay now, I promise."

"What kind of falling out?" Noah asks concerned.

Brendan thinks for a moment. "...Mom accused Mama of cheating on her while she was working down in Florida. When Mama came back to explain, Mom told her she wanted a divorced and ran off to California for a few days. Mama and all us kids chased her down and explained everything...I promise it's all okay now. It's not a problem." 

"That's huge...why did no one tell me?" Noah asks hurt.

"Because it was long over before you were adopted. We all prefer to not really talk about it. It's caused some problems that we don't wanna bring up." 

"What do ya mean..."

"Well Grandma never really forgave the problem, she thinks Mom was right in wanting to divorce Mama. She said that the problem was dissolved too fast and that they should seriously rethink things."

"Too fast...was I too fast? Was I the thing that kept them from healing properly..." Noah asks as his eyes well up with tears.

"No bro...I didn't...I didn't mean it like that...it's just, Mom and Mama always taught us that people might not agree with everything you do or everything you say, but you do it because it's what you feel is right. And that no one should try and tell you otherwise. That's all I was trying to say, I promise. Please don't be upset." Brendan says quickly, trying to cover up the hole he dug. 

"Nah...nah it's fine..." Noah says as he gets from his chair. 

"Look, dude, you need to understand..." Brendan says as he quickly gets up and tries to keep his brother from leaving.

"No, I, uh, I understand. I'm gonna go take a walk." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noah hears Whitney chuckle as he runs down the stairs. Ash turns around when she hears the door slam. They both run to the door and open it, running outside.

"Noah?!" Whitney yells at the figuire running away from the house as tears form in her eyes.

"Get in the car. I'll get the keys." Ash says breathlessly as she runs inside the house.

"What's going on?" Brendan asks as he and Dalton run down the stairs. 

"Noah bolted. Go see if you can catch up with them." 

From the passenger seat of the car, Whitney can see Dalton and Brendan run out of the house and towards the direction Noah went.

Ash comes running with the keys and gets into the driver's side. 

"I don't get it Ash...why would he do it? I thought everything was fine." Whit cries. 

"I don't know baby...we'll figure it out." 

~~~~~~~~~~~

After about 7 minutes of driving, Ash and Whit find Dalton and Brendan walking breathlessly down the street.

Ash rolls down the window. "...anything?" 

"Nah...he's gone, we couldn't find him anywhere." Dalton heaves.

"Alright..." Ash answers as she looks to Whitney. "...we should go home and call the cops." 

"No! Ashlyn, we can't give up on him like that. How would he ever trust us again?! We need to keep looking. You and the boys can go home." She says when she unbuckles and opens the car door.

"Whitney, wait..." Ash says. She then looks to her son. "...here Dalton, take the car home. Mom and I will walk back." 

"I can't let you guys walk 10 blocks in the dark...we'll walk back." 

"No, I'd feel better if you took the car. We'll be fine." 

Dalton sighs. "Okay, let's go B." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Whit, wait up..." Ash says as she runs up to her wife. She's crying.

"Don't cry baby..." Ash says as she wraps an arm around her shoulder. 

"I don't understand. Where did he go? Was he hiding something..."

"No one can fully understand why someone would do something like this..."

"Mom?" A voice says behind them.

They both turn quickly, thinking it is Noah.

It's Brendan, with tears streaming down his face.

"What's wrong..." Whit asks terrified.

"It's my fault..." He cries. "...it's my fault he left. I told him about the fight you guys had before he was adopted. He must've gotten freaked out or something." 

"Freaked out about what? That fight had nothing to do with him." Ash says.

"I told him about grandma too..." Brendan says nervously.

"What about grandma..." Whit says sternly as Brendan puts his head down.

"About how she disapproved how things went down. I think he might've thought it was his fault."

Whit looks down at the ground. "Thank you, Brendan, you can go home now." 

Brendan nods and turns around, walking back to the house.

Whitney and Ash walk a bit further. They hear something. It's sniffling. 

They see a figure come into the light of a street light. It's Noah...with a gash on his face.


	22. HAO & Kriegs

"Noah?" Whit says quietly.

"Mom..." He answers as he slowly walks towards the two. 

Noah runs up to them. He cries into Whitney's shoulder.

"What's the matter? What happened to your face?" Whit asks as he looks at Noah and caresses his face. She gets blood on her hand. 

"I fell...I fell when I was running..." He heaves.

"Why Noah...why were you running?" Ashlyn asks.

"I...I...I..." 

"Noah, take a breath baby, it's okay. You can tell us." Whit says. 

"Brendan told me what happened...I'm the reason everything is so messed up." He cries.

"No, it's not Noah and you now that. Just come back to the house and we can talk." Whitney says as she rubs her son's back. 

After a while, he agrees. They walk back in the dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Noah, you're back!" Bryce says from the stairs as the three walk in the front door. 

"He's fine bud. Go upstairs please..." Ash says. "...all of you guys." She says to the rest of the kids sitting in the courtroom. 

Whit sits Noah down and waits for all the kids to go upstairs. Ashlyn walks next to Whitney, on the opposite side of the island facing Noah. 

"Before we start explaining everything, you need to know that you are not the reason for all the problems with my mom. Absolutely nothing. Our problems are because of our actions. Not yours." Whitney explains.

"Then it's a coincidence that all of the problems started when I came into the picture."

"Okay, Noah We're not gonna lie to you..." Noah's back stiffens. "...Ashlyn and I's relationship was a bit strained, and the idea of a new addition to our family was a bit stressful. Not you...we loved you the second we saw you." 

"You mean that..." Noah says softly.

"Of course we do...you were the perfect fit that our family was waiting for...and, my mom, well she thought that we should work out our own problems before we take on another responsibility." 

"That's all?" 

"Yes...I promise." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noah calmed down a bit after he had that talk with his parents. He's asleep on the couch now.

"Do you think we should leave him Whit?" Ash asks her wife as they sit in bed that night. 

"I don't know..." Whit sighs. "...he'll know something's up if we stay. I think we should just go and enjoy our night. He'll be safe here at home." 

"But then we'll have to update Heather and Ali about what happened. Won't it freak them out?"

"I guess we don't have to tell him. We can just tell Taylor and Jordyn to keep an eye on him." 

Ash thinks for a moment. "...do you think things between Noah and Brendan are okay now?" 

"Yea..." Whitney replies. "...Brendan felt really bad, but I saw them hug before they went to bed. Nothing can separate two brothers."

Ash grins.

"What?" Whit chuckles.

"Well it's crazy to think how different things were a year ago...Noah wasn't apart of our family. You were still talking to your mom..."

"Ah stop. Don't make me feel any more guilty."

"Why? You should babe. You said you'd call them days ago. My mom is so excited to come for Christmas. I bet your parents are just waiting for the call." 

"You're right. I'll call them tomorrow. For real this time, I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It's now 9:30 pm the next day. HAO and Ali arrived at the house around 12 and were there to greet the kids when they got from school. They met Noah and absolutely fell in love with him. 

Ash was super excited all day to finally get to spend some quality time with her wife, it's been months since they had some intimidate time together. Plus, Whit was getting a little anxious around Ali. 

Trust me, Ali Krieger is a great friend and former teammate to the two. But quite honestly, Whit always gets a little protective over her wife whenever she's around. Only because Ali and Ash dated for about a year.

Nothing too extreme, like being rude to Ali or anything, but just sweet things Whit does towards Ash. You know, rubbing her shoulders, caressing her arm, holding her hand...Ash loves it, but it makes Whitney anxious.

~~~~~~~~

The two finished dinner about a half an hour ago and are know lying on their bed in their hotel room for the night.

"So did you call your Mom?" Ash asks, just trying to make some conversation.

"Oh shoot..." Whit says. "...I knew I forgot something."

"Go..." Ash chuckles.

"Huh?" 

"Go call her." Ash answers.

"Right now?" Whit asks confused.

"Yea..." 

"But tonight's just about us. I don't wanna bring my parents into this." 

"Whit, there's 5 days until Christmas. My Mom's coming in 2 days. Just call them. They don't want to spend another holiday away from the kids."

Whit is quiet. "...I'm scared."

"I knew something was holding you back." Ash grins.

"Why is that funny?"

"Because you are the most driven person I know. That's where our kids get it from. Usually, you wouldn't let anything get in the way of you doing something. You're afraid babe, that's totally okay."

"But won't if they say no. That they never want to see us again."

"They won't. Remember I talked to your dad? He misses you and those kids like crazy."

"Okay..." Whit sighs as she runs her hand through her hair. "...where's my phone."

"That's my girl." Ashlyn smiles. 

"Don't be proud yet...who knows how I'll feel when they pick up...if they pick up."

"They will...call your dad's number."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*ring* 

"Hello?"

"Dad? It's Whitney." 

"Whitney...Oh my god, hi!"

"Hi...are you free to talk?"

"Why yes, of course. Is something wrong?"

"No...um is Mom there too?" 

"Why yes, she's in the kitchen. Do you want me to go get her?"

"Yea, that'd be good. Can you put it on speaker? I wanna talk to the both of you." 

Whit can hear Jack walking down the stairs. She can hear both of her parents sit down.

"Mom?" Whit says.

"Hi sweetie..." Barb says. Whit can hear that she's choking up. 

"Listen...I just wanted to apologize."

"No---" Barb cuts off. Here we go...

"No Whitney..." She goes on. "...I want to apologize to you...and Ashlyn. I was angry and let it get the best of me. I should've just talked rationally with you. I'm so sorry I acted so childish. I hope you and Ashlyn can forgive me."

"We can Mom. We appreciate that...we really do."

"I'm glad..." Barb sniffles. Whit can tell her mother just wiped a tear away.

"So...is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, yea actually..." Whit replies. "...Ashlyn, the kids and I want you two to come out for Christmas. Tammy will be here and it's Noah's first Christmas, we want to make it memorable." 

"Well you've got our count, we wouldn't miss it for the world," Jack says excitedly.

"Good. The kids have missed you like crazy...I've missed you like crazy." 

Barb lets a chuckle. "...we're both too stubborn to give in...I'm sorry it had to be this long angel, what made you call..." 

"Actually Ashlyn was the one who really pushed me to call you guys. She said we couldn't spend another holiday without you guys...She honestly really cares about you two, I hope you know that." 

"Oh, we know sweetie. And she loves you and those kids more than anything in the whole entire world..." 

Whit smiles to herself.

"Well, we better get going. So much to do in only a few days! I have to buy gifts and buy plane tickets and pack and find a place for the dog to stay!" 

"Okay, Mom..." Whit chuckles. "...we'll see ya in a few days. Bye, Dad."

"Bye Whit...tell everyone we say hi. Love you." 

"Love you too, bye." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

"How'd it go?" Ash asks as she turns the hotel TV off.

Whitney doesn't reply, but just tackled Ashlyn onto the bed.

"Good I'm guessing..." She smirks.

"Great...Absolutely great. I can't believe I didn't call them sooner. You were right, thank you."

"Just doing what I can..."

"They'll be here in 2 days...and they're so excited. I am too actually."

"That's the holidays for ya...now if we could just get everything organized."

"Yea we should...but I promised you some alone time." 

"Well we don't have to rush that, we have all night."

"What?" Whit asks confused. 

"Grab your laptop...we can order some gifts and pick them up at the stores tomorrow."

"You want to be on parent duty right now...." 

"Only if it's parent duty with you." 

Whitney grins and pecks her wife's lips.

"I guess that's where we're at right now huh..."

"An old elderly couple who doesn't have enough energy for sex? Yea, that's us." 

Whitney laughs.

"I never thought we'd come to this." 

"Well believe it, baby, cause we're here." 

"I'll grab my laptop."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been about 3 hours and Ash and Whit are still on the bed, nuzzled up into each other, looking at stuff on Walmart and Target's websites. 

"What do we get Noah..." Whit wonders. "...he's too polite to ask for anything." 

"I don't know...maybe some art supplies?" 

"Yea, I think he'd like that. Good idea." 

"You know me..." Ash answers. Whitney chuckles again.

At 11:30, they decide to call it a night.

"Goodnight baby. Thanks for tonight." Ash says to Whit before she turns out the light.

"No...thank you. You basically fixed my family."

"You're the one who did the talking. You had it inside of you the whole time, you just needed a little push." 

Whit grins.

"That's why you're here...I love you," Whit says.

"I love you..." Ash grins. "...and I always will."

Whit kisses Ashlyn's soft lips.

"Merry Christmas?"

"A little early for that babe..." Ash chuckles.

"Okay...how about goodnight." 

"Alright...goodnight Whit." 

"Goodnight." 

They kiss again. 

When the light is turned out, Whit nuzzles her head into the crook of Ashlyn's neck, putting her hand on Ash's tattoo of their kid's names. Whit rubs her thumb on Ashlyn's skin. She's been doing that for years. At first, Ash used to think that Whit did it to let her know she was there, and that everything was gonna be fine. Kinda a way to calm her down. But now, Ashlyn knows Whit doesn't do it for her, but for herself. The peace of knowing that her wife is sleeping right beside her, with her strong arms interlaced around her. With her 7 children tucked away in their beds, dreaming of their amazing futures. There's nothing more calming than that. There's nothing more calming than family to get you through a hard time. That is truly a blessing.


	23. I'll Be Home For Christmas

Whitney wakes up in Ashlyn's arms, grinning.

"Something funny..." Ashlyn groans. Whit chuckles.

"I'm just lucky..." 

"K..." Ash replies, falling back to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash sleeps for about an hour more, with Whitney awake next to her on her laptop. At one point, Ash moved in the bed, resting her head on her wife's thigh as she sits criss-cross applesauce. Whit runs her fingers through Ashlyn's brown hair. 

"Ready to get up? We have to be out of the room by ten..." Whit whispers to the sleeping beauty in front of her. 

Ash just groans again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's now 11:30. Whit and Ash checked out of their hotel room, got some coffee, and then went to pick up some Christmas gifts. 

They pull into their garage and are a bit slow to get out. Both of them have been in cute kissy moods lately. They walk into the kitchen, knowing that all the kids are at school, but see something they don't expect. Ali and Heather sitting at the island, in each other's arms, with tears in their eyes.

"Hey guys, is everything all right?" Whit asks concerned as she walks closer to the two. 

"Everything's absolutely perfect..." Ali chuckles.

"Is crying the new smiling?" Ash asks curiously.

"I guess so...the adoption services just gave us a call. Our trip to Uganda is scheduled for January 17." 

"Oh my gosh! You guys that's huge!!" Whitney replies excitedly, going over to hug the two.

"I know we can't believe it. It's a whole 2 months earlier than we thought." Heather adds.

"Congrats you two..." Ash smiles. "...plus, just know it doesn't matter when they get here, it's just that they do..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 3:30, all of the kids start to roll in from school.

"Mom, can you wash my mouthguard?" Brendan asks when he comes into the kitchen. "...I dropped it in the dirt outside school." 

"How'd you manage that B..." Whit chuckles.

"It's a blur." Brendan simply says. Whitney chuckles, messing up his hair. 

"Hey, maybe today you and Noah could put up the outside decorations. I want them to be up before your grandparents get here." Whit adds as she chops up some carrots. 

"Yea...I don't know about that..." Brendan replies.

Whitney cocks her head up. "Why? I thought everything was okay between you two...something wrong?" 

"No, everything's fine with us...it's just, the decorations." 

Whitney grins, her son was starting to scare her. 

"Okay...how about I give you 30 dollars to go out and buys some new things." 

"Really?" Brendan shoots up.

"Yea, I mean the stuff out there is getting pretty old. Bought it before you were born. It's time for some new ones." 

"Wow, thanks, Mom. You're awesome." 

"I try," Whit replies. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashlyn drove the boys to the hardware store to pick up some new lights and inflatables, then they're going to the Christmas tree farm to pick up the 2018 tree. 

"We're home!" Bryce hollers as he comes in the front door with boxes of Christmas lights. 

"We got the tree!" Jonah adds. 

Whit comes in from the living room. "Great, bring it on in here." She motions.

In the through the doorway, Brendan, Noah, and Dalton carry the tree into the living room and put it into its stand. 

"Babe, it's huge..." Whit says she looks up at the monstrosity in front of her. 

"Yea well, we have high ceilings." Ash chuckles.

"How are we gonna decorate it all? We definitely don't have enough ornaments."

"Don't worry about that, we prepared. Boys, why don't you get the rest of the stuff out of the car." 

"Ashlyn, how many things did you buy?" Whitney protests.

Ash chuckles. "...I may have given them a little more than 30 dollars." 

Whitney rolls her eyes at her wife.

"Gotta make it memorable," Ash replies as she rubs Whit's lower back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girls eventually came down from the attic with the ornament boxes as Ash and the boys put the lights up outside. 

Around 5:30, the boys come into the kitchen to the familiar smell of hot chocolate, made by their mother of course.

"Wow hot chocolate!" Bryce says excitedly. 

"Careful, it's hot." Whit chuckles.

All 7 kids, along with Ashlyn, get their mugs of cocoa and head into the living room to decorate the tree. 

"So what do we decorate it with?" Noah asks.

"Ornaments and lights...some Christmas balls and some other ornaments that are special to us." Jordyn answers.

"Special?" Noah quizzes.

"Yea, like this one..." Taylor replies while picking up a little pink baby rattle ornament. "...I got this on my first Christmas. 'Taylor, 2004'." 

"Yea..." Jordyn agrees. "...or this one. 'Baby's first Christmas, Dalton, 2003'." Noah examines the blue rocking horse ornament. 

"Speaking of that..." Ash cuts in. "...Noah, your Mom and I have something to give you." 

Whit grins over to Ashlyn. "Well, since it's your first Christmas, and you are our baby, we got you this..." 

Whitney holds out a little snowman ornament, with Noah's name on it and the year.

The two can see their son's eyes light up. 

"Do you like it?" Ashlyn asks.

"I...I love it. Thanks..." 

"We hoped you would. Why don't you put it on the tree, it'll be the first ornament of the season." 

Noah smiles brightly as he rests the string of the ornament on a branch of the evergreen. 

"Thank you..." He says again.

Whit and Ash smile to him. "That's just what family does" Ash replies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 7:30, the tree is officially decorated for the holiday season. With the white and colored lights, the gold ribbon wrapped about, and the ornaments that mean so much to each and every one of the Harris family. The kids start to put some presents under the tree. Some for their secret Santas, and some for their parents. 

"Movie time!" Dalton says excitedly. It's a tradition for the family to watch a Christmas movie in front of the tree on the night that they decorate it.

"Have you ever seen Elf Noah?" Jonah asks.

"No...what's it about?"

"Only one of the funniest and most classic stories of all time. You're gonna love it." Brendan chuckles.

It was true. Noah absolutely loved the movie. He thought it was absolutely hilarious. There was even a time when Whit had to pause the movie because he couldn't stop laughing. It was a really, really good day. 

The boys are upstairs finishing some last minute homework and projects for their last day of school tomorrow. Bryce and Jonah are getting ready for bed, and Taylor's lying on the couch with her head nuzzled in cushions. 

Whit sits on the edge of the couch, rubbing her daughter's back. It was a long day after all.

"Mom, I have to tell you something..." Taylor says. Her voice is barely audible.

"What is it, sweetie..." Whit wonders. Taylor never confessed anything to her.

"I think...I think I have a concussion." 

Whit takes a breath, relieved it isn't something worse. She thinks of the right words to say.

"Listen, Taylor..." She begins. "...I know you just got back, but you need to take care of yourself. If you have a concussion, you have a concussion and will need to sit out for a couple of games." 

Taylor sighs.

"Why didn't you tell us right away? You could be seriously injured."

"I don't know...I thought I was fine. I'm obviously not."

"Headache?" Whit asks. 

"Yea...I've been sleeping so much too."

"Well, that's sound like a concussion. I'll call the doctor in the morning. Why don't you go up and get ready for bed." 

Taylor agrees and slowly rises from her spot on the couch, walking upstairs. 

Whit fixes some of the couch pillows before going into the kitchen to write down to call the doctor. Organization is key in her book.

She opens the door and is startled by something.

"Hi." Jordyn says.

"Hey..." Whit replies. "...whatcha doing?" 

"I have to bake brownies remember? I don't know how I'm gonna get them all to school tomorrow..." 

"Well I'm sure you'll find a way, you always do." Whitney smiles to her daughter.

"Is everything okay with you and Grandma now? Is that why she's coming for Christmas..." Jordyn says a while later as she mixes stuff in a bowl.

"Yes everything is fine...we talked it out." 

"Are you sure? I don't want Christmas to be ruined..."

Whitney grins. "You worry too much Jordy...there's a lot of thinking going on in that head."

"Well, it's a blessing and a curse," Jordyn replies.

"You shouldn't have to worry about this stuff...your holiday won't be ruined. Gramma and Grampa are in very good spirits. They know that you and everyone else know what happened. They're not gonna do anything." 

"But is everything okay...you're not just putting on a brave face?"

Whit chuckles and goes over behind her daughter, rubbing the sides of her arms. 

"Yes, everything is resolved. No fake feelings, I promise. You seriously shouldn't have to worry about all this..."

Jordyn just grins up towards her mother.

"How can I help..." Whit then says, wanting to change the topic of conversation.

"Well, you can start on batch number 3, I'll put this one in the oven." 

Whitney agrees and does what her daughter commanded. In so many ways, and in some many situations, Jordyn reminds Whit so much of herself. Like they could be the same person. And the only way Whitney can give her daughter advice is if she digs deep into her teenage years and thinks of advice she would have liked to hear. Because, you know, teens are hard to raise. They're in such a pivotal and memorable time in their lives, and you don't wanna screw up. It's scary, but these moments are the ones that show Whitney that she and Ash are doing okay. That they're doing amazing actually. These kids surprise them every day with something new. And they wouldn't trade it for the world.

The holidays will be no greater surprise. All of their family will be here...together. That's the best gift anyone could have asked for.


	24. Family Is Everything

It's been 2 days since we caught up with the Harris family. A lot has happened since December 22.

Grandma and Grampa arrived from California last night and Gramma Tammy arrived a few hours before that. Tammy met Noah, and they seemed to hit it off immediately. Tammy had him hysterically laughing in the first half an hour of talking. For Barb and Jack though, it's been a bit harder. Noah has been unintentionally distancing himself from them, just because he's kinda, sorta afraid of them.

At breakfast this morning, there was an open seat next to Barb, but Noah chose to sit at the end by himself. Barb was a bit hurt, and Whit could see that, so she decided to talk to him.

"Hey, you gotta a minute?" Whit asks as she enters the boy's room.

"Yea..." Noah says as he puts down his colored pencil.

"Okay, um...I want to talk to you about Grandma and Grampa." Whit says as she sits down next to her son.

"Alright..." Noah answers.

"Well, I think you should try a little harder in getting to know them. They wanna take you out to lunch, maybe you should take them up on the offer."

"Oh um..." Noah thinks.

"I'll have Gramma come up, maybe she can talk you into it," Whit says as she stands up and rubs the back of Noah's head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Knock, knock." Noah hears from the doorway. He looks around and sees Grandma Barb with her holiday sweater on.

"Hi sweetie," Barb says. "...Grampa and I were thinking of going out for lunch. Know of any good restaurants?"

"Um, the pizza here is pretty good." Noah nervously chuckles.

Barb comes in. "Whatcha working on?" She asks. Noah looks down at the canvas in front of him.

"Oh...it's Taylor's Christmas gift, I'm her secret Santa."

"Oh Noah, it's beautiful. She'll absolutely love it."

Noah grins down at his piece of artwork. "...thanks."

Barb nods. "So do you want to go out to lunch? You can choose where we eat..."

Noah agrees, and the three go out to lunch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Jack, Barb, and Noah are out, Tammy, along with Ashlyn and Whitney, start the preparations for Christmas dinner. Tonight on Christmas Eve, Barb is making her famous lasagna, but the turkey needs to be soaked for tomorrow.

Tammy and Ash are given the job of cleaning and "dismembering" the turkey.

Tammy washed the turkey and now it is time to pull out the insides.

Ash had the job of pulling out the neck, a.k.a the dick.

"That's probably the first one you've ever touched," Tammy says jokingly as Ash sticks her hand in the turkey.

Whitney chuckles from the counter, she honestly loves Ashlyn's mom so much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's around 3:30 now, and all of the kids are doing their last minute shopping and wrapping. Dalton took one of the cars and took Jonah out for some ice cream. Taylor, as her good deed, is helping Brendan with last minute things for their yard. Even though he's being a total dictator...

After B and Taylor come in after about 2 hours of being out in the freezing cold, hoping to warm up.

Brendan meets Bryce in the kitchen.

"Okay bud, I'm gonna be real honest with you...I have your gift already, but I don't know what kind of good deed to do. Any ideas?"

Bryce thinks for a moment. "I want you to make me a snow fort..."

"Huh?"

"A snow fort...I want one." Bryce reiterates.

"Bryce there's no snow outside."

"I know, but that's what I asked Santa for this year. Maybe you two can work together for my present..."

Brendan chuckles.

"Well I'll try...but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out."

Bryce grins at his brother. "...I won't, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna happen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At 4:45, it's fully dark outside. Everyone is home, even Grandma and Grampa with Noah.

"Okay people, we're about to light the yard. Everyone outside." Brendan says as he comes into the kitchen.

The whole family puts on their coats and piles out to the front yard.

Noah stands by the house, ready to plug in the cord that connects the whole show.

"Okay, let's count down." Brendan directs.

"3...2...1..." The group chants.

At one, Noah connects the two cords and the Harris house illuminates in light.

The group awes as they look at every last detail.

The lights outlining the house, the lit snowmen on the grass, the giant Santa his reindeer inflatable blowing in the breeze and the candy canes lining the perimeter of the property, along with the walkway. Everything is perfect...

"Brendan, it looks great! Where did you get all this stuff?" Barb asks her grandson in disbelief.

"Well we bought some, but everything else is what we already had..."

"Aren't those decorations like 17 years old?" Jack chuckles.

"Well yea..." Brendan chuckles back. "...but someone once told me that the experience is more important than the outcome. And that the memories you make are much greater than any cash prize...Noah, Taylor and I had a lot of fun, even if we don't win the money." He says.

Whit and Ash smile at him and B looks over to his siblings.

In the mid of the moment, Barb's phone dings.

"Oh...sounds like the lasagna is ready."

"Alright gang, let's go in and get ready for dinner." Jack adds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, all the kids come down, dressed in their Christmas Eve best.

Dalton is wearing a red and white reindeer sweater with a whitesszs shirt underneath. Noah has a red, green and white vineyard vines dress shirt, and Brendan with a red and white plaid dress shirt. Both the little boys have sweaters on, Bryce in red and Jonah in green. Jordyn and Taylor both have sweaters and black jeggings.

Ash puts on a nice dress shirt that Whitney got her for her birthday, and maroon pants with dress slacks. Whitney has a sweater on with a green skirt with black tights and boots. Jack has a green sweater on with a green and white checkered flannel underneath. Both Tammy and Barb have dresses on.

Barb sets all of the food out on the table, as everyone else looks in awe. Two kinds of lasagna, meat and vegetable, with salad, sweet potatoes, stuffing and green beans.

"Let's eat..." Dalton says while drumming on the table.

"Uh uh uh...first let's say a prayer." Tammy adds.

Ash look at her mom from the head of the table, surprised she said that. She was never very religious.

"I think that's a great idea..." Whit answers.

The whole table holds hands. Ash thinks for a moment before she grabs her wife's hand. Whit grins when she does.

"Barb, why don't you lead us." Tammy smiles.

Barb grins and thinks a moment before starting.

"Well I am just grateful that we all get to be together...that we got past our differences." She says as she glances up at her daughter.

Whit grins.

"That we get to continue to value and express our love with each other as a family. I for one thank God for bringing us our new grandson Noah, this year. May He all bless us with grace and patience going into this New Year. And that we may never lose the value of family. Because family is everything...and I was stubborn enough to forget that for a while. I thank God for opening my eyes. God bless us. Shall we thank Him for bringing us all together..."

"Amen." The group says.

Whit looks up to her mother across the table with tears in her eyes. Jack, Barb, Whit and Ash all glance at each other.

"Thank you..." She mouths.

Barb grins widely. "No, thank you." She replies.

Ash grins at the interaction between her wife and her mother in law. Christmas is honestly such a magical time. The ability to bring people together is indescribable. She was right, God bless us, all of us.


	25. Christmas Eve

After dinner is over, the kids go into the living room to exchange their sibling gifts. Ash, Whit, and the grandparents follow.

"If I may interrupt before we start. I have an early Christmas present for everyone, particularly Ashlyn." Tammy says to the group.

Ashlyn grins at her mother and looks over to her wife, wondering if she already knows what it is.

Tammy goes to the side door in the living room and opens it, revealing the best present of all.

"Uncle Chris!" The kids yell.

"Haha Merry Christmas everyone!" Chris chuckles as he comes into the living room and puts down his bag.

"What are you doing here?!" Ash asks as she gets up to hug her brother.

"Well I was planning on spending Christmas break down in sunny, hot Florida, but turns out Mom didn't mention to me that she'd be in bitter cold Maryland. So my plans changed last minute."

"Well, we're sorry we didn't reach out to you sooner..." Whit says as she walks over to her brother in law and hugs him.

"It's totally fine, as long as you don't mind if I mix up the plans a bit."

Everyone looks at him quizzically.

"Josh..." Chris calls.

A tall man with a beard and brown hair enters the house.

"Hi everyone." He says.

"Oh Chris! We finally get to meet him!" Tammy says ecstatic.

"Yea, he's come for Christmas. I hope that's okay with everyone." Chris replies nervously.

Whit grins at Ashlyn. "Everyone is welcome...We're glad you came Josh. Welcome to the family." Ash grins to her brother and his partner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kids helped Uncle Chris and their new "Uncle Josh" inside with their bags and gifts.

"So sorry we interrupted. Were you guys in the middle of something?" Josh asks as he and Chris sit down on the couch with the rest of the family.

"We were just about to exchange our secret Santa gifts..." Jonah replies.

"Okay, who's first," Whit says as she sits by the fireplace next to Ashlyn.

"I'll go..." Jonah replies as he slides his gift over to Bryce.

Bryce grins widely as he tears open the red paper.

"A new lego set!" He says excitedly.

"Yea..." Jonah replies. "...it's got three hundred pieces, so I figured we could do it together."

Bryce smiles at his brother as he tackles him onto the carpet, giving him some love.

"Okay Bryce, who did you have?" Whit directs.

"Dalton." The boy answers.

Bryce hands the messily wrapped package to his brother. He must've done it himself.

Dalton grins as he rips open the paper.

"Heyyy, a new Raiders hat..." he says as he holds up the new gray Oakland Raiders SnapBack. "...my old one's pretty dirty. Thanks bro," Dalton smiles. Bryce crawls over to his older brother and gives him a hug.

"I had Jonah," Dalton then says. The younger boy smiles as a little neatly wrapped green box is handed towards him. He tears it open.

"A cold stone gift card!!" He yells.

"I figured you'd be good on ice cream for the next year with that." Dalton chuckles.

"Thanks," Jonah smiles as he hugs his brother.

"Who's next?" Jordyn asks.

"I'll go..." Taylor smirks as she hands Brendan a gift bag.

Brendan smirks back at her as he opens the bag and removes the tissue paper.

"JoJo Siwa bath bombs?" He chuckles.

"You like them? I thought of you when I saw it at the store." Taylor jokes.

"Of yea, of course." He goes along.

Taylor chuckles as she stands up and goes behind the tree, pulling out Brendan's real gift.

"This is for real this time. I hope you like it..." she says as she hands the box to her brother.

Brendan opens it and yells, "New skin!"

"What?" Ash laughs.

"It's a new cover for my PS4 controller, and it has the Patriots logo on it. Thanks Tay..." He says excitedly. The two bro hug.

"My turn..." Brendan then grins. "...here ya go Jordyn."

Jordyn takes the gift nervously as she peels back the wrapping paper.

"A mug..." she says as she opens the box.

"Not just any mug." Brendan corrects.

"Oh cool!" She then says as she reads it. She turns it around for everyone to see.

Brendan truly is a sweetheart. He got a personalized mug for Jordyn that says "Vice President Jordyn Harris" on it with Jordyn's campaign quote "School gov won't be boring when you vote for Jordyn!". B always made fun of how corny it is, but is proud of his sister for putting herself out there. He could never do what she does.

"This is awesome, I love it. Thanks Brendan."

"No problem. It was a lot of fun making it actually. I kinda like that whole graphic design thing."

They hug.

"Noah..." Jordyn then grins. "...I just wanna explain a few things before you open your gift."

Noah looks at her, curious. "Well..." She continues as she looks a bit nervously towards her parents. "...when all of us were adopted, when we were babies, Mom and Mama hung these pictures in our rooms, above our beds. Gramma Tammy made them. And they stayed they're forever. Taylor and I still have ours up. You probably never seen them, I think Brendan broke the glass on his or something. And I realized that with all of the craziness we've gone through as a family these last few months, that we've forgotten this tradition. So Gramma and I teamed up. I hope you like it."

Noah grins and looks at Whit and Ash. He takes the top off the white box and awes. It's absolutely beautiful. Inside it's dark wood frame is a blue poster with green writing. It says "God knows that it doesn't matter how a child finds their family. All that matters is that they got there".

"This is the best present that I've ever received. Thank you." Noah says sincerely.

"I'm glad you like it..." Jordyn replies as she brings in Noah for a hug.

"I love it..." Noah finally says.

Noah looks down once more at his gift, admiring it before he gives his homemade gift to Taylor.

"Well going off that, I want to give this to you, Taylor. I thought long and hard about what I could get you, but realized that the greatest gifts are handmade. So I hope you like it..."

Taylor grins and opens the box, revealing a true treasure.

"Noah..." she gasps. "...you drew this?" She then asks.

"Yea...you like it?"

"No ones ever done anything like this for me before. I love it."

It's a black canvas with white writing, Noah must've painted it himself. At the top is a picture of a scar. One line with three lines intersecting. Then he wrote the quote: "The one who falls and gets up is so much stronger than the one who never fell".

Taylor gives Noah a huge hug.

"I figure that not only can it relate to you and your ACL, but to all of us as well. We've all been through some pretty tough stuff, and we're stronger now because of it."

Whit puts her hand on Ashlyn's as she intertwines their arms.

"Best family moment ever?" Ash whispers to her wife.

"Definitely one for the books..." Whit grins as she pats her wife's hand.

"Hey look!" Grampa Jack interrupts. "...it's snowing!"

All the kids run up the window. It must've been snowing for a long time, there's about 3 inches outside!

Whitney smiles as she watches Noah look at the snow in awe. All of the kids rush past him, opening the door and running into the white, cold fluff.

"Come on..." Jordyn says as she hands Noah his coat.

"What are we doing?" Noah asks a bit startled.

"Let's play in the snow." Jordyn chuckles as she puts Noah's winter hat on for him.

"The snow?"

"Yea...haven't you ever done this before?" Jorydn asks surprised.

"No, they always kept us inside when it snowed."

"Well, then this will be fun." Jordyn softly smiles as she takes Noah's hands and pulls him out the door.

Noah hesitates as he takes his first steps on the newly fallen snow. 

"It's colder than I expected." He chuckles. 

"Wait until you make a snowball," Brendan adds as he gathers some snow into his hands, compacts it, and hands it to his brother. 

Noah takes the snowball. He examines it, almost like he has no idea of what to do with it. 

"Chuck it at Dalton, Noah." Ash says from behind him.

He smiles as he looks back at his parents, then grinning towards his older brother.

"Go ahead..." Dalton gives in, as he stretches out his arms on either side of his body for an easy target.

Noah winds up up the frozen snow in his hand and throws it at Dalton, hitting him square in the chest. 

"Bullseye!" Brendan says.

Right then, Jonah comes up behind him.

"Sup squirt," Brendan says.

"I told you Santa would come through. Now you need to too. Snowman please." 

"Snowman? I thought you wanted a snow fort..."

"I changed my mind..." Jonah grins.

"Okay, but only if you help me." B agrees.

"We can all help, it'll be fun," Taylor adds.

All the kids agree and go out a few feet in the yard to start building. The big boys start rolling the base of the snowman, while Jordyn and Taylor work on the middle, and Bryce and Jonah work on the head.

When all three parts are rolled together, all 7 of them lift the boulders of snow on top of each other. 

"It looks great you guys," Whit says as she and her wife come out to check on their children. 

"Even the snowman is shivering out here..." Ash adds as she wraps a red and black checkered scarf around the snowman's neck. 

Whit smiles as Ash then hands the kids a carrot for a nose, some black dots for a smile and eyes, two sticks for arms and a hat, of course.

The snowman is officially assembled, and the family stands back in awe. 

"I think this is the best snowman we've ever built," Jordyn remarks.

"Definitely." Dalton agrees. 

"I think it's the best snowman in the history of snowmen!" Bryce adds.

"Well let's leave him here in the cold before you all get frostbite. Santa can't come unless you're asleep!" Grandma Barb says from the porch. 

"Grandma's right..." Whit says. "...we better get to bed." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After all of the kids, along with everyone else, got their matching long red shirt and plaid red bottom pajamas on, they sat down to complete one more Christmas tradition before going to bed: reading the night before Christmas. Grampa Jack always narrates, because he's got the best soothing reading voice.

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and all the through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..." Jack begins. 

Whit watched as each of their children listened with care, anxious for the surprises coming tomorrow.

Before she knew it, Grampa Jack is almost done with the poem, for he's reading the last few lines.

"He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle. And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!".

The whole room erupts in clapping.

"Time for bed..." Brendan yawns.

All the kids hang their stockings and jump into their beds, trying to fall fast asleep so tomorrow morning will come sooner. 

"Merry Christmas beautiful," Ash says as she kisses her wife's cheek. They just finished wrapping gifts and laying them out under the tree.

"Beautiful..." Whit flirts. "...why the sudden sentimental mood?"

"Can't I just tell my wife she's beautifully and utterly gorgeous on Christmas Eve?"

"Well, I wouldn't discourage it..." Whit replies as she leans back into Ash's chest as they sit up in bed. 

"Okay then...Whitney, you are the most beautiful and drop dead gorgeous women I know in the history of the world." Ash plays back sweetly and sincere. 

"Really..." Whit grins.

"Definitely," Ash replies as she connects her lips to her wife's.

"Tomorrow is gonna be good, I can feel it." Whit then says.

"You really think so?" Ash asks.

"I mean presents or not...all of our family is here. All of our kids are safe, happy and healthy...what more could we ask for."

Ash grins as she looks into her lover's eyes.

"Well said babe...well said."


	26. The Harris Family Christmas Special 2018

"Noah, wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Bryce yells as he shakes his brother awake. Noah groggily opens his eyes to all of his siblings standing over him.

"Come on, let's go open presents!" Jonah says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All seven Harris children, along with their grandparents, parents, and uncles, make their way downstairs to the Christmas tree. The kids lose their minds at the sight of all the gifts.

"A new bike!" Bryce yells. "...I broke my old one doing jumps."

"A keyboard..." Jonah awes to himself as he graces his fingers along the white keys. He picks up a note that is taped to it.

"May you never lose the things that are important to you. Now you can practice in the quiet and peacefulness of your room!- Santa Clause"

Brendan spots a white envelope hung on the tree addressed to him and Noah.

"Noah, this is for us." Brendan ushers to his brother. "...you open it." He continues.

Noah smiles as he takes the envelope and opens it. He pulls are four pieces of paper and reads it carefully.

"What is it?" B asks anxiously.

"It's tickets to a Patriots game!" He replies excitedly.

"What?!?!" Brendan says believed as he jumps up and down excitedly.

"Yea, they're playing the Eagles in 3 weeks!"

Dalton's present from Santa is wrapped. It's quite large, so he sits on the floor to open it.

He reads the note to himself first.

"Dalton, you have continued to impress me this past year in the way you carry yourself in school, in sports, and in your family. You have fully earned this gift. I hope you enjoy it in your new room! - -Santa Clause"

"A TV?!" Dalton yells as he peels back the red and green wrapping paper.

"I guess you've been really good this year..." Grampa Jack chuckles.

Now it's the girl's turn.

Taylor sits in front of her gift and reads the note:

"Taylor, I am so proud of the mountain you've climbed this past year. May you continue to play the sport you love. - Santa Clause"

"Oh sweet..." Tay chuckles. "...new indoors. These are the ones I was looking at."

Yes, this gift is truly sweet. Taylor opened the gift of new blue Mercurial indoors, and to her, there is nothing more beautiful.

"Your turn Jordy..." Bryce says.

Jordyn grins as she looks at the wrapped present in front of her. She really didn't ask for anything big this year, so she is wondering what this could be.

She opens it and is astounded.

"A guitar..." She sighs happily.

You're gonna need a little background on this. See, Jorydn and Jonah's father was very musical, and the skill was passed onto to his children. Jonah obviously plays the piano, and Jordyn played the guitar up until about 2 years ago. She became ashamed of her past. Ashamed of the fact that she so much enjoyed a pastime that connected her to her past, which she despised. She sold her guitar online for some extra cash. She's secretly regretted it ever since.

She reads the note from Santa.

"May you never be ashamed of where you come from. It makes you who you are, and never forget that. Enjoy this guitar, and never lose the spark that you feel in your heart when you play. Merry Christmas Jordyn. - Santa Clause"

"I can't believe it..." She says.

"He knows things that no one else does..." Grandma Barb grins.

The kids then open their stockings, all lined up by the chimney with care.

They all got basically the same things and appreciated them greatly.

Each stocking had a candy cane filled with Hershey kisses, some skittles, socks, gum, and an iTunes card.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's around 11 now, and the adults are busy in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

The kids are in the living room counting their goods. The rest of the presents for them were from Ash and Whitney.

Dalton got some new NBA sheets for his bed, some sweatpants, a few Toronto Raptors shirts, an Oakland Raiders jersey, a new basketball, NBA 2k19 and a new gamer chair for his room.

Brendan got some Patriots gear, some skateboard wheels, new wrestling headgear, a new mouthguard, Madden 19, some new Vans and a new football.

Jordyn got some makeup, some clothes, Rubiks 4x4 (because she's a wiz at them ;) ) Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate mix, the whole cinematic collection of Harry Potter, and a new lacrosse head.

Taylor got some new shinguards, a new soccer ball, a new UNC sweatshirt, a backpack for tournaments, a calf roller, a nice water bottle, some clothes, and a Nike gift card.

Jonah got a Star Wars Piano sheet music book, a Red Sox world series blanket, a Star Wars video game, new baseball pants, baseball belt, a Red Sox pillow pet, some Star Wars legos and a 50 dollar gift certificate to the batting cages.

Bryce got a dirtbike helmet (so he doesn't kill himself while doing jumps), a motocross video game, some more legos, a Lego Harry Potter board game (to Jordyn's pleasure as well), a Bryce Harper jersey, a remote-controlled helicopter, a Nike sweatshirt, and some new outdoor basketball sneakers.

And for his first Christmas, Noah got a Tom Brady jersey, some Milwaukee Bucks shirts, a winter coat, Elf on DVD, FIFA 19, new lacrosse cleats, and many, many art supplies.

The family had a beautiful and delicious turkey dinner later that evening, and Ash later surprised her wife with a special gift at the end of the night.

"I thought you forgot about me..." Whit chuckles as she throws back the blankets on their bed.

"I'd never forget about you," Ash quickly answers back.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" Whit continues.

"I did..." Ash replies as she walks over to her wife. "...and it'll be even better after you open this."

Ashlyn hands Whitney a long black velvet box.

"This better not be anything too fancy. I'm pretty sure you're still paying off my engagement ring." Whit chuckles softly to herself.

"Not a ring..." Ash hums.

Whitney opens the small box and gasps.

"Ashlyn, it's absolutely beautiful."

It truly is beautiful. It's a charm bracelet with the letters D, B, J, T, J, B, and N on it. The beginning letter of each of their children's names.

"Where's your initial?" Whit asks.

"I didn't know if you wanted mine on there..." Ash honestly says.

"Why wouldn't I want your initial here? You're a huge part of my life too. The first one to start all of this..."

Ashlyn grins. "I'm glad to hear that," she says as she takes something out of her pocket.

It's an A.

Whitney smiles as Ashlyn clips her initial onto the bracelet. 

"You are the love of my life..." Whitney begins. "...no matter how many kids we raise, they're all gonna be out of the house at some time. Then it's just you and me..."

"Deep much?" Ash jokes.

Whit chuckles. "...I'm serious. For better or for worse...let's pick a date for the renewal."

"Wait, really?" Ashlyn scoffs unbelieved.

"Yea. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life. We both feel that something has been missing lately, and I think this is it. How's April 12 sound?"

"Our real anniversary..."

"Yea why not...too many dates to remember if we choose another day."

Ashlyn chuckles. "...I love you Whitney. Seriously, I do. No matter how hectic things get around here, you always stay calm. You seriously are my better half."

"I try..." Whit jokes.

"I love you," Ash says as she tackles her wife into the bed, kissing her.

"Promise?" Whit then asks.

"Promise for what?"

"Forever..."

"Yes baby, I'll love ya forever."

And then after that, along with the rest of family, Whitney and Ashlyn settled down for a long winters nap.


	27. New Years

"Are you sure you two are okay watching them?" Whitney asks Chris and Josh as she puts on her coat. 

"Oh we'll be fine, it'll be good practice," Chris replies to her sister-in-law.

"Practice? I thought you guys just started dating?" Ash scoffs.

"Well not exactly..." Chris says nervously. "...we're actually engaged."

Ash and Whit's faces light up. 

"What?!" Ash says excitedly.

"Yea..." Josh replies as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Guys! Congratulations!" Whit says as she brings them in for a hug. Ash joins as well.

"Well, you can't stay here tonight..." Whit continues.

Ash looks puzzled at her wife. 

"...you guys should go out and celebrate! The kids will be fine here. We'll be back later tonight." 

Chris looks at his fiancee. 

"Are you sure? We don't mind staying..." 

"Please, go out...enjoy your freedom without kids while you can." 

Chris and Josh chuckle.

"Well, then I think we might just take you up on that..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris and Josh just left to go out to some nightclub in town. 

"Babe, are you sure we can leave them here alone? Do you remember what happened last time?" Ash says to her wife.

"That 'last time' was more than a year ago Ashlyn. They learned their lesson, plus Dalton matured a lot from 16 to 17..."

Ash thinks for a moment as Whit walks over to her and begins rubbing her back. 

"This is the part in parenting where we just have to let go and trust them..."

"But do I trust us..." Ash says quietly.

"We raised them just fine Ash, and you know that. Letting go is always hard."

Ash puts her head in her hands as Whitney chuckles.

"What's so funny?" She asks.

"I guess I never thought you'd be the one to freak out about the kids growing up...I thought you'd be the one to calm me down." 

"Well, things change." Ash chuckles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney and Ashlyn settled their kids in with treats, soda, and junk food to get them through the night in order to have a good time.

"Wait Mama, don't forget about the money!" Bryce says to his mother before they leave.

"Oh right...thanks bud," Ash replies as she takes a 50 dollar bill out of her wallet.

"What's the money for?" Noah asks.

"Every New Years Eve, the kid who falls asleep last and stays awake the longest gets 50 bucks," Brendan replies. 

"Oh, that sounds like fun..." Noah answers.

"Are you guys okay here by yourselves? We should be home around 2."

"We're good." Jordyn answers for the group. 

Ashlyn leaves the money on the table and guides her wife to the car.

"They're gonna have a wild night..."Ash chuckles.

"Yea..." Whit agrees. "...good we got the older kids those one-year gym memberships." She chuckles. 

"Where do you wanna go..." Ashlyn asks. 

"I don't know...24 years of sobriety has really killed our New Years Eves." Whit jokes. 

"Okay then..." Ash chuckles as she interlaces her hand with her wife's. "...we could go see a movie, get some dinner...you're choice." 

"I just want to spend some time with you." 

"How about we rent a hotel room for the night." 

"Babe, we told the kids we'd be back by two." Whitney slightly protests.

"Yea and it's 8...we've got plenty of time."

"Alright fine, but all the hotels around here will be booked."

"Why don't we go to Baltimore?" Ashlyn asks.

"Baltimore? Babe that's like an hour away, what if there's an emergency."

"There won't be...plus Chris and Josh are in town. Let's just go, it'll be fun." 

Whit gives a hesitant look towards her wife. 

"When's the last time we did something for ourselves..."

"We stayed in a hotel a few weeks ago." Whit chuckles.

"But we were still thinking about the kids then. Let's just forget everything tonight...it's just you and me." 

"Okay fine...let's go." Whitney finally gives in.

"Good..." Ash grins. "...I love you." 

Whitney scrunches up her nose, which absolutely kills Ashlyn, and kisses wife. 

"I love you..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm so gonna beat y'all this year...last year I had a cold and was forced to go to sleep," Dalton says to his siblings.

"Yea right, I'm gonna win. I'll get so hopped up on sugar that I'll be bouncing off the walls. I won't sleep for days." Brendan laughs. 

"Let's all pray that Brendan doesn't get to the ice cream before us." Taylor jokes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashlyn and Whitney just checked into their hotel and are now venturing out into Baltimore to grab a bite to eat. 

Along the way to the restaurant, a girl walks up to the couple.

"Excuse me? Do you happen to know where the soup kitchen is?" 

"Oh sorry..." Ash replies. "...I don't."

"Oh, that's fine. Thank you..." The girl says while walking away.

"Hey hold on there a second..." Ashlyn then says as she takes out her wallet. "...here's 30 bucks, maybe you can get a cab." 

"Wow, thank you so much." The girl replies as she takes the money hesitantly. 

Ash grins to her, as well as Whitney. They walk their separate ways.

"How old do you think that girl is?" Whitney asks her wife.

"I don't know...17?" 

"Yea she looks young. Too young to be going to a soup kitchen." Whit answers.

"I'm sure she's fine babe. You never know what people truly go through. She could be volunteering there..." 

Whitney agrees with Ash, but is still thinking about it.

"Did you notice anything else about her?" Whit then says.

Ash thinks for a moment.

"A characteristic?" She asks.

Whit can tell Ash is thinking the same thing as her, just not expressing it. 

"You didn't notice the fact that she looks exactly like one of your sons?" 

"Our sons, baby..." Ash corrects.

"Alright, our sons..." Whit gives in. "...she's an exact copy and you know it."

"Let's not get into this Whitney. We'll turn paranoid..."

"But you can't help but wonder." 

"Okay, you can't help but wonder. But the fact that she looks like Brendan doesn't mean that they could be related. It's just a coincidence."

"A crazy coincidence," Whitney adds.

Ash looks over at her wife, and can see the wheels turning in her head. She's thinking about something.

"We're not going to get into it Whitney...7 kids remember?" 

"I know, I know..." Whit sighs. "...I'll stop talking about it. It's you and me time right now." Whit replies as she interlaces her fingers with Ash's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's around 10 pm now, and Bryce and Jonah are already feeling pretty tired. They stayed up pretty late the night before.

"C'mon, you guys have to at least make it until midnight..." Jordyn says.

"But we stayed up until 2 last night playing Star Wars Battlefront 2..." Bryce says. 

"Well then you're not gonna get the money..." Taylor chuckles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney and Ash just got back to their room, and Whit can't stop thinking about that girl. 

"Babe, you worry about things you cannot change. It's just the way you are, but just forget about it now." Ashlyn says to her wife as Whit cuddles up to her.

"I know, I'm trying..." Whit sighs, "...but I just hate the fact that we could be depriving them of meeting each other."

"We don't even know if they're related baby..." Ash mentions.

"I know, but how could they not be. You saw her right?" 

"Can we not think about it now...we have 4 hours of freedom..." Ash replies as she closes her eyes.

Whitney remains silent for a few moments.

"We should do something tonight...make our new year worth wild."

"Like what?" Ashlyn questions. 

"I don't know..."Whitney replies as she nuzzles her head into her wife's neck, kissing it.

"Ohhhh, like that I see..." Ash chuckles. 

Whit chuckles into Ashlyn's neck, biting it a bit.

"Tryna give me a hickey?" Ash teases.

"Yep..." Whitney moans. "...I don't think you've had one in a while."

"Well if we're giving hickeys..." Ash sexily says as she leans down to Whitney's ear, nibbling it. 

She then moves down to her wife's chest, skipping the neck. Ashlyn's sucks on Whit's skin, right above her boobs. 

"What are you doing..." Whitney chuckles as she ruffles Ashlyn's hair.

"Makin' my way down..." She simply answers.

Ash lifts up the bottom of Whitney's tank top, revealing her toned stomach.

"Working out for me huh?" She jokes.

"Just keeping up with you..." Whit breathes.

Ash kisses her wife's chest, going slower and slower down her body.

Ash gets the elastic of Whitney's shorts and tugs on them, signaling she wants them off. 

"Are you sure you even remember how to do this?" Whitney chuckles.

"Ruining the moment babe..."Ash laughs back. 

"You know what I would like better though..." 

Ashlyn looks up as Whitney grabs her face, pulling it towards her. Their lips touch and get into sync as Ash climbs on top of her wife. 

They continue kissing, and kissing, and kissing. 

It's now 11:59. They two completely blocked out the TV in front of them. 

"5...4...3...2...1..." The crowd on the TV yells. Both Ash and Whit look up from their activity.

They start laughing. "Happy New Year!!!!" The crowd roars. 

"Happy New Year baby," Ashlyn chuckles. 

"Happy New Year..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Happy New Year!!!" The kids yell as everyone starts jumping up and down. 

Noah smiles widely as he looks at his siblings. He can't wait to spend the rest of his life with them, this crazy bunch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's around 1:30 am now, and Whitney and Ash are still snuggled up in bed. They FaceTimed with the kids around 12:15, wishing them a happy 2019.

"We told the kids we'd be home in 30 minutes..." Whit chuckles. 

"Well things change, hopefully, they're all asleep."

"I don't know...there's a lot at stake." 

"Right..." Ash chuckles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney is right, there's a lot at stake. But there are only two kids awake now, battling it out. Bryce and Jonah crashed right after midnight struck, and Brendan ate too much sugar and passed out at 1:00. Taylor thought she was a contender to the money until she fell asleep at 1:17.

Noah and Jordyn are the only ones up. The TV is on, but you can tell they both wanna talk.

"Hey Jordyn..." Noah says.

"Yea?" The girl says as she shoots her head over to the direction of her brother.

"That guitar that you got for Christmas...what's the story behind it? Didn't you sell your old one because you didn't use it?" 

Jordyn thinks for a moment.

"It's not that I didn't use it..." She begins. "...it's that it was causing me...pain." 

"Pain?" Noah asks.

"Yea..." She answers. "...you know Jonah and I are biological siblings right?" 

Noah nods. 

"Well...a few years ago, a family member of ours, or my dad, tried to reach us. It's some distant cousin that wanted to meet us...through the agency, they got in touch with Mom and Mama. They asked if we were already adopted. Before Mom and Mama could even answer, the cousin said that they were interested in adopted Jonah, not me..."

"Oh, that stinks. I'm sorry." 

"Yea, it really bothered me. They even tried to give Jonah this guitar that my dad played...I couldn't look at another guitar after that."

"But you love playing don't you?" 

"Yea..." Jordyn answers. "...I really do...but the time I have had away from it was good. It gave me some time to think...that news really crushed me." 

"Did the relative know about you? Maybe she didn't realize..." Noah questions.

"No, they knew..." Jordyn sighs as she fiddles with her hands. "...Jonah was 8 then, I was 11...They weren't interested."

"But you're family." 

"I know...but what Mama and Mom reminded me of really helped."

"What did they say?"

"They said that it didn't matter that some blood relative of mine didn't want me...that I'm already in a family that loves me endlessly for who I am...and that I should make the best of my life, show 'em what they're missing."

"Is that why you're so good at everything..." Noah chuckles, causing Jordyn to grin.

"Well, I try...But why shouldn't I try my best at everything? We're so blessed to be but in this family, because of all our backgrounds...Mom and Mama give us so many opportunities to better ourselves." 

"Yea, you're right..." Noah agrees.

Right then, around 2:45, Whit and Ash come into the living room laughing.

"Did you two have a little too much fun?" Jordyn asks.

"Nope..." Whit says while plopping down next to Jordyn on the couch. "...still sober." 

Ash sits next to her wife. 

"You two still duking it out?" Ashlyn asks.

"Not anymore..." Jordyn begins. "...I'm exhausted, Noah wins." 

Noah grins to himself as Jordyn stands up and yawns.

"Can I sleep in my bed or should I stay down here?" She asks her mothers. 

"If you don't being by yourself up there..." Whit answers.

"Oh, she won't be..." Noah interjects. "...I'll be up in a few minutes."

Whitney grins at her son as Jordyn kisses them both goodnight.

Ash starts to fall asleep on her wife's shoulder as the quiet in the room lingers.

"Something wrong Noah?" Whitney asks the boy.

"Oh yea...just tired," Noah replies as he gets up. "...I think I'm gonna go to bed." 

"Okay, don't forget your money on the table." She grins. Noah kisses her goodnight.

"We'll wake everyone around 10 or 11...I think we're gonna go bowling tomorrow." She adds.

"Sounds good," Noah agrees. 

As he walks up the stairs, he peers into Jordyn's room, seeing that the light is turned out.

"Jordyn?" He whispers.

No answer. 

Noah slowly creeks the door open as he steps inside. He walks over to his sister's bed, trying to navigate through the dark. He slips the 50 dollar bill under Jordyn's phone on the nightside table and walks back out to the hallway. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened last night..." Brendan says groggily as he walks into the kitchen. 

"I don't know..." Ash answers as she rubs her eyes.

Whitney chuckles as she gently guides her wife to the breakfast table.

Noah sits down with his brothers, but they can't eat until the girls are downstairs. Taylor runs down and immediately pours herself a bowl of Alpha-bits, while Brendan chooses the classic--Fruity Pebbles. Jordyn comes down the stairs behind her sister and sits beside Noah.

"Hey, I think I might've taken this last night. I was so exhausted I don't remember..." Jordyn says as he hands the money to her brother.

"Oh no, you didn't. I thought you deserved it more than me..." 

"What do you mean? You won, just take the money..."

Noah thinks for a moment.

"Honestly," He begins. "...after what you told me last night, I couldn't imagine taking anything else away from you..."

Jordyn grins.

"That's sweet..." She replies. "...but I didn't earn it."

"Doesn't matter..." Noah says. He changes the topic. "...hey I forgot to ask you..."

"Yea?" Jordyn says as she pours some milk into her bowl.

"Can you sing?"

Jordyn grins. "Yea...I can, but I choose not to. It's something I like to keep to myself." 

"Oh..." He replies. He decided to drop it.

"So we were thinking of going bowling around 6:00...is everyone okay with that?" Ash asks from the head of the table.

Everyone nods with mouths full of cereal, Whitney chuckles as she sips her coffee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's 5:45 now, and Whitney and Ash decide to go out and warm up the car for the kids. As soon as Whit closes to the door of the passenger's seat, Ashlyn looks at her sincerely.

"Stare much?" She chuckles.

"I have to ask you something..." Ash says. "...and you might not like it,"

"What is it..." Whitney answers getting a bit frightened.

"Well, the federation called me..."

"US Soccer?" 

"Yea...they called me two days ago if I wanted to come out to their January camp..."

"Camp...but you're retired."

"That's what I said...but apparently through all the contracts and everything, I only retired from the NWSL."

"Wait, I don't understand...how can you play for the national team if you don't play on a pro team?"

"I don't know...but they want me to come to California in one week to try out for the World Cup team." 

"The World Cup team? Baby that's huge..." 

"I know, I told Heif I'd think about it, but I'm gonna tell them no..."

"Wait Ashlyn, why not give it a try? They obviously still see potential in you..."

"Whitney there's no way I can...do you remember what almost happened to us last time I played? I have a job now, I can't leave you alone with the kids..."

Whit takes her wife's hand in hers.

"Listen, just go and try out...you haven't trained in months, who knows if you'll even make it...but how do you know if you don't even try..." 

Ashlyn thinks for a moment.

"Alright..." She agrees. "...but if you guys want me home, then I'll come home. No argument."

"Okay baby, I'm so proud of you," Whitney says as she kisses Ash's lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Harris family is now into their second game of bowling, and Noah decided that he really likes the sport.

Whitney has been sitting next to Ashlyn the whole night, holding her head. Neither of them said anything to the kids about the National team call-up, they probably won't for a while.

Whitney is so overjoyed right now. She's so incredibly in love with her wife, her children are absolutely amazing, things with her parents are alright now, they'd be welcoming a new in-law into the family...things are gonna be okay. 2019 is gonna be just fine. Who knows what craziness it will bring, but they'll be ready for it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they get home that night, Whitney sits down to do something she hasn't been able to in a while. She's gonna update her blog. About what you ask? Well, her year of course.

Dear 2018,

Man did you really give it to me...I thought that my life was done changing, that I wouldn't have to adjust to anything more. But what happened to my family and I this year has been something truly unforgettable. 

In my last blog post, I talked about the number 6. Yes, it's still the number of years Ashlyn and I dated before we got married, and it's still the number of states we lived in before we settled in Maryland, but it's not the number of kids we have.

This year we welcomed Noah into our lives. He truly is the sweetest boy who came just when we needed him. I'm going to be honest, Ashlyn and I were in a rough patch before we adopted him. Fighting over a silly little thing that masked the true love we share for each other for a split second. But adopting Noah, and seeing him adjust and bond without family has healed all of those problems.

Now, I would say that Ashlyn and I's marriage couldn't be any stronger. We're happy, we're healthy and we're together. That's right, Ash retired from the NWSL and said adios to Orlando for a while. She found a job here in Maryland and I love waking up every morning knowing she's by my side.

The kids are growing up like crazy, and I'm sure many instances of hysteria will be tossed our way in 2019. But through all these moments, I realized that I am so blessed. Through all of the crazy mornings of reminding Brendan to take his medicine, for Dalton to stop drinking from the carton of milk...for driving to soccer practice or helping with debate speeches...through all of the hugs and kisses and pep talks, I realized that I won't have that forever. The kids are gonna grow up, the house will become more empty...but the one sight that I see every morning, the one consistent sight, is Ashlyn, sipping coffee from her "that's what she said" mug as she wraps her arm around me. These are the moments that are truly unforgettable as a person...

So I don't mind the title "Mom" at all. It's a privilege to even be a parent, and thinking about how once these kids were once scattered all across the world blows my mind. Cause as Ash and I always say, it doesn't matter how long it takes for you to come home...the door is always open.

Love, Whit


	28. I'm Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are we on the same page?

It's January 10th, and Ash is packing up to go on her trip to California.

"Why is Mama going on this trip again?" Jordyn asks at the breakfast table.

"Some training for her job here. Should only be a few days," Whit lies.

Jordyn lets it go but can sense that something is going on.

"Alright, all set," Ash says as she comes into the kitchen with her suitcase. 

"Good, I'll drive you to the airport after the kids leave," Whitney replies to her wife as she hands her a cup of coffee. "...why don't you say goodbye to them now." 

Ash agrees and sets down her coffee mug. She goes over to Bryce and Jonah at the table and gives them a big hug and kiss. She does the same for Taylor and Dalton.

She then goes over to Jordyn at the counter. Jordy gives her a stern look. 

"What's going on..." She says quietly. 

Ashlyn grins as she looks at her daughter, so much like her wife. 

"Nothing you have to worry about..." She whispers back as she kisses her head and hugs her.

Brendan and Noah come down the stairs then, and Ashlyn goes over to wish them goodbye.

Eventually, it's time for school. Whit can see the school bus down the road. All the kids rush out and finally Ash and Whit are left to peace and quiet. Jordyn is the last out, and as she grabs her backpack she gives a hesitant look towards her parents.

"That girl thinks too much," Whit says as she leaves.

"I know someone like that..." Ash chuckles as she wraps her arms around her wife.

Whitney grins as she kisses Ashlyn, the first time all day.

"Ready to go?" She asks. 

"Yea..." Ash replies. They kiss again.

"You okay? I mean this is a lot to take in, and you sorta have to hide it." Whitney says.

"Yea...little nervous honestly, but I have to remember that this may be my last chance. I'll try and enjoy it." 

"Good, because I am so, so proud of you for doing this...it's a big deal."

"Let's not make it a big deal, even if I make it I'm coming home..."

"Why do you keep saying that? If you make the World Cup team you're going to France babe. It's because you deserve it."

"Right, but I don't deserve it. I haven't played in months and there are a bunch of other keepers there working every day for it..." 

Whit grins as she wraps her arms around Ashlyn's waist and pulls her close. "Well then we'll just have to wait and see..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's now Friday, and Ashlyn secretly left for National team camp yesterday afternoon. Ash texted Whit when she arrived, but since then she has heard nothing more. She was becoming more and more anxious as the hours went by, wondering how her wife was doing. Around 12:00 pm, she gets a call. 

"Hey, so I found out why they really wanted me to come out and train..."

"Was it because you're doing amazing and they realized they never should've let you go?"

"No..." Ash chuckles. "...it was because I never 'went out on a high note'"

"Explain please..." Whit chuckles, obviously confused.

"Well, I've been playing for a long time, and I'm technically a veteran here. They felt that I didn't get the proper retirement celebration I deserved."

"Oh that sounds nice...what are they gonna do for you...Get a cake?" Whit jokes.

"No..." Ashlyn answers. "...they want me to play."

Whitney feels as if she can't breathe.

"Wha...what?"

"Yep. In our game against Haiti. Jill says we'll have a majority of the possession so it'll be a good shutout to end my career. I might have to make a few saves here and there but..."

"Um, that sounds nice babe, but you haven't played in months. I'm worried you might hurt yourself."

"Ah don't worry, it's all coming back to me...just one broken finger so far..."

"Baby..." Whitney whines.

"Okay, two..." She chuckles.

"Alright well, we'll all be there to support you...Is it in California?"

"Nope, Kansas City. I'll play in the match against Haiti, have the ceremony, and the team will move onto playing France and Spain."

"Sounds good...see you then?"

"See you then baby. I love you,"

"I love you too. Please be in one piece for when I get there."

"I'll try...can't promise anything though."

Whitney chuckles. "...I'll call you later, bye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 3:00, Whitney gets in the family car and goes to pick up Noah. He is the only one out of 7 that will need a pickup right after school because he has an errand to run with Whitney. Brendan and Dalton have their separate practices, Jordyn as a school government meeting, Jonah and Bryce are at their friend's house and Taylor is hanging out with her friend Brooke. 

This specific errand is driving up to the Child Services office in Baltimore for some year after adoption paperwork. Yes, can you believe it? Noah has been with his family for almost one year! There are just some legal things Whit needs to sign and stuff, they also need to see a judge to check up on things.

~~~~~~~

Noah and Whitney finally arrived in Baltimore after about an hours drive. They go in, wait on line and are directed to the waiting room outside of Judge Norman's office.

From their seats outside, Whitney could hear yelling in the room next to them, most likely directed towards the judge. The door swings open and a girl storms.

"Now Olivia, hold on a second..." Judge Norman says as she follows. The girl stops and looks at her. 

"...now I've known you since you were 10 years old, and I haven't ever given up on you. Maybe this is for the best...you were having troubles with the Wilson's anyway."

"Anyway? They freaking accused me of having sex with their son and stealing their money. Would I be offended normally? Yes, but I want to be adopted. I'm sick of this Jan..."

"Now, now...settle down. I have another appointment now, so why don't you wait here and I'll come for you after."

The girl huffs and sits down, while Judge Norman looks exhausted at Whitney.

"Ms.Harris?" She then says.

"Hi Judge Norman, I'm sorry if we interrupted something." 

"Oh no it's quite fine...all apart of the job. You must be Noah." The judge says as she extends her hand to the boy.

"Yea...hi."

"Please come in."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The meeting went very smoothly. Whitney signed a few papers, the judge asked Noah about Thanksgiving and Christmas...and how things in his new life were generally going.

"If I may, Judge Norman...can I speak with you about something privately?" 

"Oh, why sure...Noah, do you mind stepping out in the hall?" 

The boy agrees and goes out into the waiting room.

"Anything wrong?" The woman asks.

"Oh, nothing at all...I was actually just wondering about the girl who was in here before."

"Olivia? What about her?" The judge says surprised.

"Well, it's kinda a long story, but my wife and I saw her on the streets last time we were here and immediately thought that she looks exactly like one of our sons..."

"...and you were wondering if I could clear things up for you..." The judge finishes as she smiles.

"Yes exactly...if you could." 

"Well maybe to your surprise, it isn't exactly that easy. I can definitely look at my records, and we can definitely schedule another appointment for you to come with your wife...does that help?"

"Yes, it does. Thank you so much." 

"Wonderful, is 3 days okay? I'm booked until the end of the month." 

Whitney thinks for a moment and then remembers.

"Ashlyn will be out of town then...does she have to present for it?"

"Why no she doesn't. You don't mind coming on your own?"

"Not at all...that works perfectly."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney steps out of the judge's office and greets Noah. 

"Is everything okay?" He asks.

"Just fine..." Whitney answers.

As Noah walks ahead of his mother, Whit slips a note to Olivia, who looks up surprised. 

Whitney smiles softly and just walks away, saying nothing. 

She opens the note

Olivia---

I know you don't know me, but I promise that I will come back for you. I can't give an exact explanation now, but I know that my wife and I are interested in you being apart of our family. 

\---Whitney Harris (313-453-684) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney knows what she did. She did it behind her wife's back. But she couldn't help it, that teenage girl was so upset. Even if she and Brendan are not related, why shouldn't they give her a chance? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrive home, Dalton and Jordyn come downstairs.

"We're going over to the Scutter's house...we'll be home by 9." Jordyn says as Dalton grabs his keys.

"Okay, be careful." Whitney grins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She decides to give Ash a call.

"Hey, baby, what's up?" She says groggily. Sounds like she just woke up.

"Well, I have something to tell you..."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well the meeting at the Child's Services Office went well, I saw that girl again..."

"That girl from New Years? The one I gave money to? Babe..." Ash begins.

"I know, I know. You don't wanna talk about it, but she was with the judge before and just found out that her foster family gave her up. I asked Judge Norman if there is any way that she can see if she and Brendan are related. She said she'd get back to us in 3 days..."

Whit can hear Ashlyn sigh.

"You didn't say anything to her right?"

Whitney doesn't answer. 

"Whitney...did you say anything to her?" She says again.

"I may have slipped her my name and number...just if she needs anything."

"Babe...we can't just sweep every kid we see off the streets. There was probably a good reason why her foster family gave her up..."

"They accused her of horrible things but they never heard her side of the story...she just needs a chance."

"She could be dangerous Whitney. She's not like Noah and you know that...living in a big city by herself for 16 or more years? We don't want that in our house..."

"Can we just see what the judge says? We can rethink things then..."

"Okay, but my choice is no. 8 kids Whitney...Think about that for a second."

"We made out fine from 6 to 7..."

"Yea after the whole family almost splitting up thing."

"Almost Ashlyn...we didn't let it defeat us. Let's just see how it goes okay...I love you."

It takes Ash a moment. 

"I love you too...bye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's 8:30 now and Jordyn and Dalton are at the Scutter's house with a few of their friends. Dalton is hanging with a couple of his buds and Jack Scutter, while Jordyn is doing a project with his sister Lexi.

From Lexi's room upstairs, the two girls can hear things getting a little wild. Mr. and Mrs. Scutter aren't home, so they could be doing anything down there. 

Jordyn walks down the stairs to a smoke-filled room around 8:50.

"Dalton..." She says. "...we told Mom we'd be home by 9."

"Oh cmoooonn..." Dalton says. Something was different about him. Jordyn figured it our right away. He is high as a hot air balloon.

"I'm calling Mom..." She says. Dalton rushes over to her.

"No...don't I'm fine, I promise," Dalton says he stands on one leg, showing his sister than his senses are okay.

"Dalton you can't drive home like this..."

"It's three blocks Jordyn...on side streets. Worst case scenario you drive the last block. You're almost old enough."

Jordyn thinks for a moment. She doesn't like this idea, but she feels as if she has to go through with it. 

Lexie looks at her friend concerned. "Are you sure about this Jordyn?"

Jordyn nods. "I'll be fine Lex...I'll text you when we get home." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dalton and Jordyn walk slowly to the car, both of them nervous about the ride to come. They are not confident in themselves or each other over this decision.

Dalton starts the car and pulls out of the Scutter's driveway, so far so good. He drives up 2 blocks very slowly, stopping when he should. At the cross intersection, he has to speed up a bit...so he does.

He was doing pretty good. Jordyn had her hands gripped to the seat. 

Right then, headlights come into view. 

"Move over to the side Dalton..." Jordyn says. She has been paying attention to driving rules and regulations lately. 

Dalton hesitates and moves to the side as he speeds up. When they pass the car, they are going at normal speed. Just then, they notice something in the road. Dalton doesn't know what to do, so he swerves. 

He lost control of the car...

The black Volvo's tires screech as the car is thrown around. The two teens can feel the moving and then a big jolt. They hit a tree. 

The window on the passenger's side cracks and falls onto Jordyn's lap. She winces in pain. 

Dalton, after catching his own breath, looks over at his sister.

"Jordyn, are you okay?!" 

She breathes. "Yeah...I'm fine..." She tries to move her arms. "O..." She winces.

Dalton doesn't know what to do. 

"Stay here, everything is gonna be okay. The house is up the street, I'm gonna run to get Mom."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dalton runs up the street and into the house.

"Mom?! Mom, where are you!?" He yells.

"Dalton, what's wrong sweetie..." She says as she comes out of her bedroom.

"We got in an accident down the street...I think Jordyn's hurt, come quick." 

Whitney runs out the door behind her son. 

"How the hell did this happen?!" 

"It all went so fast...there was something in the road and I swerved and lost control." 

Whitney runs up to the car, the passenger side is all smashed in. 

"Jordyn, baby can you move?" Whitney asks her daughter. 

"Yea I can...my arm hurts a little though." 

"Okay, try and get out the back,"

Jordyn does as told and unbuckles her seatbelt with one hand. 

"Call 911..." Whit calmly says to Dalton. 

Jordyn winces as she steps onto solid ground. Her arm is all bloody.

"The ambulance is on its way...come sit down over here," directs Whitney.

"Do you think it's cut? Or does it feel broken..." She then asks.

"Both..." Jordyn replies softly as a tear streams down her face. They can hear sirens in the distance.

"Can you two tell me what happened? The cops will be asking you too."

Dalton stays quiet for a moment.

"There was something in the road..." He says with his head down.

"Okay and you swerved...Why did you lose control?"

He doesn't answer.

"Because he's high..." Jordyn answers angrily. "...I told him not to drive home and he didn't listen. He could've killed us."

Whitney looks at her son, stunned.

"Dalton..." She says.

The ambulance pulls up to the curb, Whit doesn't get to finish her words. A paramedic jumps out and asks what happened. Jordyn speaks through her tears.

Whit doesn't leave her side for the rest of night, except when they had to investigate the accident, then she was with Dalton. 

The paramedics want to take Jordyn to the hospital just for a checkup, and there is no way that Whitney is letting her go on her own.

"Dalton go up to the house and don't do anything...We should be home in 2 hours."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney and Jordyn arrived at the hospital about an hour ago, and the last thing they need to do before leaving is to get a cast on Jordy's wrist...yep, it's broken. 

Whit didn't call Ash yet, she doesn't want her to fly home yet. Plus, she can handle it.

"So what do you think I should say to Dalton when we get home..." The woman asks her daughter.

"I don't know...you're the parent..." Jordyn replies. 

Whit chuckles. "...it's just that sometimes you know how to say the right thing...I have no idea how I'm gonna handle this..."

Jordyn looks at her mother as she thinks.

"I mean there's not much to do...you have to get straight to the point with him. I mean let's just face it Mom, he was doing drugs."

Those words cut Whitney.

"I...I know..." Whit sighs. "...I just can't believe he would do that..."

"Well, he's learning..." Jordyn says as she traces her broken hand with the tip of her finger. "...why don't you call Mama." She continues.

"I...I can't do that just yet...she can't be interrupted right now..."

"Interrupted? Mom, Dalton got high and almost killed us...wouldn't you wanna know that?"

"Not if I needed to focus on--" Whitney cuts herself off. She almost spilled the beans.

"Focus on what..." Jordyn picks up. She never missed anything. 

"Focus on...work."

"What kind of work?" 

Whitney tries to formulate an answer.

"To focus on...soccer?"

Whit looks up at her daughter. 

"How did you know that..."

"I follow the team on Instagram...Mama was in Crystal's video. I know she's in California for training. Taylor does too...we didn't wanna say anything." 

Whitney can't believe it. Her daughters are much more than she gives them credit for. 

"This is only a one-time thing..."

"Playing? Well, I'm happy for her, but I hope this is the last time. Soccer almost took you away from us..."

Whit sighs again. "...her retirement game is in a week," She says. "...then she'll be home again."

"A week? Mom, our house is literally dividing against itself. It won't be able to stand."

"I know, but Mama held things up after I went to California during our fight. The least I can do is give her a few more days."

Jordyn looks at her.

"Fine...you know her better than I do..."

Right then, Whit's phone rings.

"Is it Mama?" Jordy asks.

"Um, no..." Whit says back. "...I'll be right outside." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello?" Whit answers.

"Whitney Engen?" A voice says.

"Speaking," 

"Oh hey...it's Olivia." 

Whitney takes a breath.

"Oh hey...what's up." 

"Um, I just found enough change for a pay phone...I'm wondering if you're serious."

"Serious about..."

"Adopting me..."

"Oh well, I'll have to talk to Ashlyn when she gets back...but I definitely am."

"Ashlyn?" She asks.

"Um yes, my wife."

"Your wife?" She says confused.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Whitney asks. She can't have a kid who doesn't approve of her marriage.

"Oh no..." She quickly clears up. "...nothing wrong at all..."

"Well listen, I gotta go...things are a little crazy here, but Jan said she'd call me in the next few days."

"Oh sweet...um, one more thing though."

"Yea?"

"How many kids do you have..."

"Oh, 7..."

"7!?"

"That's right, 7..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney sighs as she falls down onto her bed, tired after a long, stressful day. She explained everything to the kids right when they got home, except the part about Dalton being high. They are now all in bed until she hears a voice at the door.

"Mom..."

She looks up, it's Dalton.

"What's up..." 

"Um, can we talk about what happened today..."

Whitney looks at her son. He looks so guilty and sorrowful.

"Yea, come on in."

The boy sits down next to Whit.

"You and Mama are never gonna trust me again..."

She grins at him.

"Honestly, I don't even know how to act Dalton...it took a lot for us to gain our trust back from the alcohol incident. We might need to look into professional help..."

"And I totally agree..." Dalton finished. 

"You do..." Whitney says surprised.

"Yea...I don't wanna be like this. It was a mistake and a horrible consequence came out of it..."

Whitney thinks Dalton is seriously apologizing. 

"Well it seems that you're really sincere. We should be thankful that the accident wasn't worse...I'm taking the initiative of taking your license away for 3 months..."

"No driving?!" 

"Yea Dalton...you got into a car accident within the first month of passing your driver's test. The deputy agrees with me..."

Dalton, although a bit agitated, agrees.

"Did you tell Mama..." 

"Not yet...I will though..."

Dalton looks frightened at his mom.

"You know your Mama is much calmer than me. I'm sure everything will be fine."

He takes a breath.

"Just make sure she doesn't hear from anyone else..."

"I won't..." She grins.

"Alright...goodnight." 

"Goodnight sweetie, get some sleep. You're grounded started tomorrow."

Dalton smirks a bit. "Well said," 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, Whitney gets ready for bed and sits up reading for a while. She's trying to fathom what happened today, but it's a bit hard.

She decides to check on Jordyn and possibly give her some more painkillers if she needs them. 

She creeps up to the door outside of the girl's room, wondering if her daughters are still awake.

"Jordy?" She whispers. 

The room is dark.

She then hears footsteps coming near her. The door creaks open and Taylor steps out.

"Oh hi, honey..." Whit says surprised. "...something wrong?"

"Well no, not really. I just have a question." 

"Okay go ahead...just please so earth-shattering realizations. I can't handle it right now..."

Taylor grins. 

"I'm really sorry about everything you've gone through...seems like you never get a break."

"Well that's parenting...you sleep when they go to college. And even then it's not a good nights rest..."

Taylor chuckles.

"Jordyn told me you found out about us knowing..." 

"Oh yea well, it's really not a big deal. Just another adventure I guess..." Whitney scoffs.

"Doesn't sound like you're too excited about it..."

"Yea well life is hard sometimes. Mama's closing up one of her greatest adventures right now. She'll be home soon."

"But aren't you supposed to be her greatest adventure? And us? Mom, you want her here right now...you're not hiding it very well. Just tell her to come home."

"I can't do that Taylor...she's worked hard for her career. She deserves this...it's only 2 more days."

"Yea but then you're gonna have to tell her when she comes home...she'll be mad you didn't tell her right away. You'll start fighting again and one of you will run off." 

Whit takes a breath. This isn't the first time one of her kids brought up the fighting and running off.

"Hey now...listen, that was a one-time thing...I didn't have my head on straight. Mama would never do that to us and I wouldn't either. We love you guys okay...we're a family no matter what. I'll call her first thing tomorrow morning."

Taylor looks at her mother; her mother looks at her.

"I am so sorry that you guys have felt like this...why didn't you come to us..." Whit asks as she begins to get upset.

"Because it was all solved...we didn't wanna bring it up again. Let sleeping dogs lie ya now..."

"I'm sorry..." She whispers as she brings in Taylor for hug and kisses her head. "...I promise things will be better now..."

"Things are already looking up...tomorrow's a new day."

Whitney smiles at her daughter. Always so optimistic.

"Yep...and I promise I won't forget that. Why don't you get some sleep, you got practice in the morning."

"Alright..."

"Jordy sleeping?"

"Yep. Out like a rock...those drugs really did something for her."

Whitney grins at Tay.

"Too soon?" She chuckles.

"Way too soon..." Whit chuckles back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney saunters back into her room, so exhausted. 

She lays down on her side, looking over to her wife's side of the bed. She can admit it, she wishes Ash was here. But she's having the time of her life out in California, and Whit's got it here. Everything's fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun creeps through the window shades of the master bedroom. Whit can hear movement in the room as she flutters her eyes open. She sits up and sees a familiar figure...it's Ashlyn.

"Ash?" 

"You wanna tell me something Whit..."

"Huh? What are you doing here..." She says confused. She is just waking up.

"You were never gonna mention to me that our son got into a car accident after doing drugs and severely hurt our daughter? I had to hear it from the deputy who called me last night!? I feel like you're leading this relationship lately Whitney...making crucial decisions without me...I don't like it one bit. I thought we were supposed to be on the same page..."

"We are on the same page, Ashlyn..."

"Oh really...what page is that I'm a little lost. When were you going to tell me about this."

"This morning Ash, it was too late last night."

"The deputy called me Whit...before you did. That hurts."

Whitney looks at her wife. She is right. Boy is this gonna be a day.


	29. Turbulence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clouds are gonna roll  
> The earth's gonna shake  
> But I'll be your shelter through the wind and the rain...

The sun creeps through the window shades of the master bedroom. Whit can hear movement in the room as she flutters her eyes open. She sits up and sees a familiar figure...it's Ashlyn.

"Ash?"

"You wanna tell me something Whit..."

"Huh? What are you doing here..." She says confused. She is just waking up.

"You were never gonna mention to me that our son got into a car accident after doing drugs and severely hurt our daughter? I had to hear it from the deputy who called me last night!? I feel like you're leading this relationship lately Whitney...making crucial decisions without me...I don't like it one bit. I thought we were supposed to be on the same page..."

"We are on the same page, Ashlyn..."

"Oh really...what page is that I'm a little lost. When were you going to tell me about this."

"This morning Ash, it was too late last night."

"The deputy called me Whit...before you did. That hurts."

Whitney takes a breath. "Can you just sit down so we can talk rationally...this is hard for all of us to process..." 

"Yea especially when you just found out from a stranger. Tell me what happened right now..."

Whitney chooses her words carefully.

"Dalton and Jordyn asked me if they could go to the Scutter's house last night, to hang out...Lexie and Jordyn had some English project...I didn't think anything of it. Why would I? Jordyn was with him..."

"Who brought the drugs."

"Jack Scutter's neighbor brought them home from Penn State...Jack paid him for it."

"Did Dalton know about this before going..."

"He says no...I believe him."

"You believe him? Whitney, our son committed a felony...you're saying you trusted him? Even after that one time we found him drinking?"

"I didn't say I trusted him in making the right decision. That he needs to learn."

"Oh and I'm sorry, were we supposed to teach him that?! Like with drinking? Because that obviously didn't work..." Ash cuts off. 

"Ashlyn, just let me finish. I meant that I trust him in telling the truth. He didn't know there would be drugs there. He wouldn't have taken Jordyn, you know that..."

Ash sighs. 

"What are we gonna do...this is absolutely insane."

"When you think about it, although this is bad, we should be glad he's not having sex or even dealing drugs..." 

"How do we know he's not..." Whitney looks stunned at her wife. "...Think about it Whit, he could've been on alcohol and drugs way before we caught him. He needs a serious consequence."

"His license got revoked for 3 months. I think we should make him get a job to pay back the damage of the car." 

"Yea that's good, but who cares about the car. How's Jordyn..."

"Hurting...I hope their relationship isn't totally ruined by this...I'd never forgive myself."

"What did the doctor say."

"That her wrist is broken...fractured in 2 places. She might need surgery, she might not. Only time will tell."

"And her spirits?" 

"Broken...she didn't eat dinner last night. I don't think she'll talk this morning either."

"Did she know Dalton was high..."

"Yep...she told him not to drive home. He persisted because it was only 2 blocks away. I don't know why she didn't call me..."

"Why don't we bring them in here to talk to us."

"Sounds good..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jordyn sits down on her parent's bed after a long, much-needed hug.

"So we know what happened...you don't have to explain it again. But we wanna ask a few questions." Ash says to their daughter. 

Jordyn nods. Ash continues.

"...why didn't you call Mom for a ride..."

"Becuase..." Jordy begins. She takes a breath. "...because then Mom would find out that he was doing drugs. My plan was to take him home, sober him up and then tell him not to do it again. There are too many problems these days...I didn't want to add to it." 

"But the threat of your safety is a problem..." Whit replies. "...Dalton is another story, but next time you call for help. I know you're very independent, and we love that about you, but some problems you just can't handle on your own."

"I know, I'm sorry. You can ground me if you want." 

"No sweetie, we're not going to ground you...We're glad your safe and we want you to heal properly."

Jordyn grins at her parents.

"And we also don't want you to worry about Dalton or a possible surgery. Just be present in the moment okay?" Ash then adds.

Jordyn nods and hugs both of her mothers, then leaving the room. It's Dalton's turn. Ashlyn is much harder on him.

"What type of drug was it..."

"Juuling..."

"Who brought it." 

"Brian Lacen, Jack's neighbor."

"Where did Jack get the money to get the Juul."

"He saved..."

"Did anyone else know about this...your friends I mean."

"Chris knew, he chipped in, but Landon and I didn't." 

"So when Jack showed you the Juul, what did you first think."

"That I didn't wanna be a part of it..."

"And then why did you do it..."

"I didn't..."

Ash pauses as she looks up at her wife.

"Dalton, you were high." Whit answers.

"I know...the room was filled with smoke...I didn't touch the Juul."

"So you got high off of second-hand smoke."

"Yes ma'am..."

"Why should we believe you..." Ash then says. It is the hardest question she's ever had to ask her son.

"I don't blame you for doubting me...it's nicotine, just like cigarettes. I stayed in the room thinking that it wouldn't do anything to me...Jack wasn't driving, so I didn't try to stop him. Chris was staying the night."

"And what about Landon? Do his parents know?" Whit asks.

"No, he left right away."

"Why didn't you go with him..." Ash replies.

"Because...because well, they called him bad names when he left..."

"Like what..." Whit says.

"Like...they were calling him a pussy and an immature fag...saying he couldn't handle it and should just run back home to his dads."

"And you didn't want the same thing happening to you..." Whitney finishes. She now sorta understands.

"Plus Jordyn was upstairs...I didn't wanna leave her, but I also didn't wanna create a scene to go get her..."

"Jordyn said that you thought you were fine...did you think you were high," Ashlyn asks.

"No...I just felt, dizzy. Like the room was spinning a bit. But right when I got in the car and sat down, I felt fine."

"You didn't think at all about your sense of direction? Your reflexes?"

"No...I should've listened to Jordyn. I'm sorry."

Ashlyn and Whitney look down at their sweet little baby boy. Little did they know he would grow up to this. They still love him to death.

"Well, this is definitely a learning experience for you..." Whitney then brings up. "...as you know, you're grounded and have your license revoked. Mama and I think that it's good for you to get a job and earn some money to pay for at least half of the damage on the car..."

Dalton has his head down, taking it all in. He's mad, but he won't fight it.

"...and most importantly," She then says. "...you need to repair your relationship with your sister. It's gonna take a long time for her to trust you again. You need to make it up to her and prove that you won't do it again...but she needs time."

"How much time..."

"A week...a month. We know Jordyn, but another person put in this situation may never be able to forgive you..."

"That's the greatest loss..." D says under his breath.

Whitney's heart breaks. Her son is really feeling that consequence. 

"Well, it will come in time..." Ash replies as she rubs D's back.

Dalton goes down to the kitchen so Whit and Ashlyn can talk. Ash starts to get heated again.

"Ashlyn, would you just listen to me for a second...I realized something." 

"What..." She gives in.

"We need to change how we do things..."

"Yea, obviously." She scoffs.

"Not like that babe...like this. We're fighting."

"And?" 

"And the kids are noticing. Both of the girls separately told me last night that they didn't come to us with their problems because they didn't want us fighting..."

"So what do you suggest..."

"I read something...something that helped me a lot."

"What, a Jesus book?"

"No...Glennon Doyle's book."

"Abby's Glennon?" Ash asks.

"Yep...and she gave a perfect analogy for our situation."

"Okay..." Ashlyn sighs as she sits down on the bed. "...let's hear it."

"Okay well...imagine life is a plane, and our whole family is on it. Just us and the kids."

"Okay..." Ash says intrigued. 

"Alright and all the kids are sitting in their seats, and we're the flight attendants. And when the plane shakes, like fighting or other problems, there's turbulence. And we both know that when there's turbulence, we look at the flight attendants. If they're calm, we know everything's okay...if they look scared, then we know we're going down...We just need to stay calm." 

"And how will the help? Relaxed parenting could be worse."

"Not necessarily relaxed...but then the kids won't be scared to come to us. Communication is key here." 

"...I guess you're right. I'm sorry I jumped on you first thing in the morning."

"It's fine...I should've told you. What are you gonna do about the game?"

"I'm not playing, but they still wanna have the ceremony for me. U.S Soccer is paying for a 5-star hotel and dining for all of us." 

"Wow, babe...that's great. How are the girls doing..." 

"Pretty good, Press and Tobin were there. They're coming down to Kansas City too...we should catch up.

"I'm in." Whit agrees. 

"So is that it..." Ash brings up.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do we just drop this whole thing now? Or do we have to keep parenting..." Ash grins as she moves closer to her wife. 

"I think we could maybe take a 5-minute break," She chuckles.

They kiss and Ashlyn slides her hand up Whit's leg.

"Mama's home!" A voice yells from the doorway. They both look up and see Bryce, smiling widely. 

He runs in with Jonah and Brendan right on his tail. They tackle them onto the bed. 

"Incoming!" Taylor laughs as she jumps on top of them all.

Jordyn chuckles as she walks in behind them. Dalton follows cautiously. 

He stops as Jordyn sits on the bed and joins the hug. She looks at her brother, then grins, signaling it's okay to come close. He grins back as he sits down and wraps an arm around her shoulder. They don't say anything...but everything's fine. 

"There is no love without forgiveness and no forgiveness without love." --unknown


	30. Connection

"So, what's on deck for today," Ashlyn asks her wife as she plops her suitcase onto the bed.

"A few things..." She begins. "...Brendan has a wrestling tournament. I think it'd be really great if we all go," 

Ash looks up at Whit and grins.

"I think that's a great idea," She agrees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The family spends a nice morning alone until it is time for Brendan to get to his tournament. 

"Nervous bud?" Ash chuckles as Brendan jumps around the kitchen with his earbuds in.

"No..." He scoffs. "...just getting in the zone." 

Whitney chuckles as she rests her hand on Ashlyn's shoulder.

"We should get going B...we don't want you to be late." She says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive to the kid's high school is far from boring. Everyone is just so happy to with each other again. 

The wrestling tournament starts off very interesting. Noah has never been to one, so he's asking Dalton questions about every little thing. 

Brendan sits up from the bench as he goes the middle of the mat to shake his opponent's hand. 

As he stands into his ready position, Whitney's phone rings. 

"Do you have to take it now?" Ash asks as Whit pulls the phone from her purse. She sees that it's the judge.

"It's important...I'll be right back,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whit steps outside the gym and over to a side hallway.

"Hello?"

"Mrs.Whitney Engen-Harris?" A voice says.

"Speaking..." She answers.

"Hi, we've met before. I'm Judge Jan Norman. I'm calling in response to a concern you had about your son..."

"Oh yes..." Whit remembers. "...Brendan though, not Noah."

"Exactly..." The judge answers. "...I have some news."

Whitney takes a deep breath. 

"Okay,"

"Well..." She continues on. "...a mother's instinct never goes untalked about. You were right Ms.Harris...Olivia and Brendan are biologically related."

"Oh my gosh..."Whit says."...that's incredible."

"Yes it is!" Judge Norman agrees. "...and it is 100 percent authentic. Both of their birth certificates are signed by the same two people. They're actually only a year and one day apart."

Whitney feels a tear stream down her face. 

"...now here's the hard part." The judge continues.

"What is it," Whit says.

"Have you told your son about this?"

"No...no, I haven't even told my wife."

"Good...because Olivia is a hard case."

"Well, we've had plenty of hard cases." Whitney chuckles.

"Miss Harris, I don't think you quite understand..."

"Do you mind telling me why?" Whit asks. She wants to understand completely.

"Well from reading your file, Noah is the first child you adopted from the teenage care system correct?" 

"That's right." Whitney agrees.

"...and all of you other children were through infancy adoption...he is the first with foster care?"

"That is correct..."

"Well, I'm sure that you and your partner were...cautious when deciding on whether or not to let a teenage orphan into your home. The records they have aren't always clean. And with that you got pleasently surprised with Noah...but they're not all like that."

"What do you mean..." Whit asks. The excitement and surprise are escaping from her voice.

"Well...just because Olivia is related to your Brendan...doesn't mean you have to adopt her."

More tears slip from Whit's face. Not good ones this time. 

"...but I would regret it..." She cries. "...we adopted Jonah because he's Jordyn's biological brother and they have the best relationship." 

"In no way am I telling you to lean a certain way ma'am," The judge straightens out. "...another child, especially like Olivia are hard to handle by themselves, much more with 7 other children...She has trouble going to school and staying out of trouble. She's been to 14 different foster homes throughout her life. One more failed one and she won't get the option for her future. She will be forced into a group home by the state until she turns 18 next year..."

"And what will happen to her then."

"Then she's on her own...it may be for the best."

"Judge Norman...I see the way she acted with you. It seems that you know her on a more personal level..I know there's a nice sweet girl under all that pain..."

"Oh, yea there is..." She sighs. "...I would've adopted her myself if it wasn't illegal."

"Illegal?" She asks.

"I cannot have a personal relationship with one of my clients...I want the best for her, so if you talk to your wife and make a decision, I'm willing to give it a try. Only if Olivia is though..."

"I understand that is fully her decision...I won't say a thing to Brendan."

"That sounds good...she has always talked about her baby brother..."

"Really?" Whit asks sweetly.

"That's right...that's why I'm certain she'll say yes. Good day to you Ms.Harris."

"Thank you so much, bye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whitney rushes back into the gym while also wiping away her tears. She sees her family in the stands screaming loud and proud for Brendan. She climbs and the bleachers and sits down next to Ashlyn.

"Everything okay? You were out there for a while." Ash asks.

"Yep..." Whit answers. "...everything is just fine."


	31. Breaking the News

After going out for celebratory Chinese food, the Harris' family trudged their way back into their house for bed. It's around 8 pm, and school is tomorrow morning. 

Brendan zonked out on the couch right after they got home, but Whitney quickly woke him up to take him up to bed. 

Brendan leans on his mother tiredly as Whit walks him up the stairs. He lies down on his bed as Whitney takes the first place medal from around his neck. She tucks him and turns out the light, walking to the door frame. She looks back at him once more before closing the door. 

Whitney's back and forth on this whole Olivia situation. Ash is right, she doesn't have to save every foster child that comes in contact with her. But this is different...this is Brendan's sister. 

She gets back down to the kitchen and sees the girls at the counter doing some last minute homework. She also hears yelling coming from the living room.

"What's going on in there?" Whit chuckles.

"Dalton and Noah..." Jordyn scoffs. "...the Bucks are playing the Raptors tonight." 

Whitney chuckles again as she looks around for her wife. 

"See Mama anywhere?" She asks her daughters. 

"Office..." Taylor replies while not even looking up from her phone.

Whitney grins. "...how's that history project going Tay..." She's joking with her daughter of course.

Taylor looks up at her mother and rolls her eyes. 

"...going." She says. "...Brooke and I need to work more on it tomorrow after school."

"Sounds good..." She replies. "...you have soccer at 5 though..."

Taylor nods as she gets back to her work, but then notices that her sister is looking over at her.

"What..." She asks.

"Oh...nothing," Jordyn replies as she begins typing on her laptop again. 

Taylor drops it, but Jordy asks her one more question.

"Don't you have Mr.Scavelli for history?" 

"Yea...why." 

"Oh...well I have Mr.Osmond..." Jordy says. "...and Brooke's in my class."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey there pretty lady..." Ash grins as Whitney strolls into her office. 

"Hi..." Whit chuckles as she goes over to her wife and sits in her lap.

"...what's up?" Ash asks.

"...I have something to tell you...and you may not like it."

Ashlyn thinks for a moment.

"...it's not about cheating or anything like that..." Whitney quickly straightens out. "...it's actually about one of our boys."

"Okay...what is it."

Whitney gets off from Ashlyn's lap and sits in a chair across from her.

"...the day that Noah and I went to see the judge, I saw that girl again."

"Oh, Whit...please tell me you didn't..."

"I...the judge noticed and just asked why I seemed interested. She looked through her files and....and she's Brendan's sister."

Whitney can see Ashlyn's face become still.

"What..." 

"Same parents..." 

Ash puts her head in her hands. 

"Listen I didn't tell you right away because the judge warned me of something. She's a hard case and just because she's related to one of our sons doesn't mean we have to adopt her...I'm sorry for keeping this from you..." 

"Nah...um, I sorta wish you told me but...I get where you're coming from."

"You do?" Whit asks surprised.

"Well, yea...you didn't know how it would play out. So what's the first step?"

"Well, Judge Norman suggested that we meet with Olivia first. If she's interested in us fostering her and meeting Brendan, then that's great. But if she doesn't want to then Brendan will never know and this whole thing will be forgotten." 

"And what if she doesn't want to be fostered but wants to meet Brendon..."

"Then that can be arranged..."

"Did you ever think our lives would be like this..." Ashlyn chuckles.

Whitney grins as she rests her hand on her wife's thigh.

"Life can be crazy sometimes...it's a good thing." 

Ashlyn grins back. "I love you..." 

Whitney leans in. "...I love you," She answers as she pecks Ash's lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's Wednesday morning and Ash and Whitney have a meeting scheduled with Judge Norman and Olivia. 

Whitney isn't very nervous this time around. She was much more nervous when they met Noah for the first time. 

"So what's she like?" Ashlyn asks as she taps her fingers on the steering wheel of the family car.

"Stubborn," Whitney chuckles. "...strong-willed." 

Ash looks over at her wife. "...I know someone a little like that," 

Whitney laughs as she nudges Ashlyn's shoulder jokingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Whitney..." Judge Norman smiles as she walks over to the couple.

"Hi, Judge Norman..." Whit replies as her and Ash stand up. "...this is my wife Ashlyn."

"Hi Ashlyn, it's nice to meet you..." Judge Norman grins as she extends her hand.

"Yea, you as well..." Ash replies as she meets the judge's hand and shakes it. 

"So, I believe Olivia is inside my office waiting for us...ready?" 

Ash and Whit both nod and follow Judge Norman into her office.

As they turn the corner, they see Olivia sitting sluggishly in a chair next to Judge Norman's.

"Olivia, this is Whitney and Ashlyn Harris. They're the women I told you about."

Olivia raises her hand slightly and waves towards the two, who wave back.

"Okay then, let's get started..." Judge Norman says as she sits down in her chair and Whitney and Ash sit down across from her.

"Olivia, do you know why Whitney and Ashlyn are here?"

"Nah..."

"Well okay...they're interested in fostering you."

Olivia's head looks slowly up.

"Why..."

The judge looks at the couple, hoping they can answer the question.

"Well Olivia, Ashlyn and I have a few other children that we've adopted and we just feel that every person deserves a family and somewhere where they can feel safe and loved. And that they can also have a successful future." Whit answers sincerily.

"How many other kids you got..."

The couple looks hesitantly at each other.

"...seven," Ash then says.

Olivia remains quiet for a moment, thinking. "How do I know that y'all aren't just doing this for the money..."

Judge Norman interjects. "...well they do also have one very special reason that they want to foster you...who do you want to tell her?" She asks.

"Uh, you can," Whitney answers. She's honestly kinda scared of Olivia.

"Well...they have a son...and he's your brother...his name is Brendan," 

"...yea I know..." Olivia says quickly. She then thinks for a moment. "...some snarls split us up when were kids...never saw him again,"

Whitney and Ash look down guiltily.

"...well these are the snarls." Judge Norman says. "...Brendan was adopted by them when he was a baby." 

Olivia looks at both of them.

"Is he alright? Didn't get into no gang right?"

"No...uh, no gangs. He's 16 now..."

"Right..." She says. "...he still got those curls?" 

"Yea," Whitney nods, tears forming in her eyes.

"...I'll give it a try...I'm not really a fan of the whole 'Full House' thing but I'd do anything to see him again."

"Well okay then...let's start the paperwork,"


End file.
